The Swarm of War
by VexMaster
Summary: A nerd has reincarnated as a Zerg Larva... and now he has been dropped into the Warhammer 40K. There is no time for peace. No Respite. No forgiveness. There is only WAR and the Swarm!
1. Chapter 1 - Prelude

**The Swarm of War**

**Chapter 1**

'Why is everything dark?'

James suddenly noticed that everything around him was pitch-black and he couldn't see anything. The only thing he could feel were the gentle rhythmic heartbeat like vibrations that surrounded him. His body felt weird and he could not feel his arms or legs.

Then the heartbeats that surrounded his body quickened and James felt a tremendous pressure all around him. Like squeezing toothpaste, he felt himself ejected from wherever he was and fell down some sort of a slope. He felt his body rolling down a steep slope but he did not feel much pain. It was actually rather fun as if it was a water slide or something.

It was when he hit the ground that he noticed he could twitch his eyelids... or so he thought. His 'eyelids' suddenly opened without warning and disappeared into his body. He felt the thin opaque films being removed from his eyes and his vision clearing.

What he saw shocked him more than anything ever in his moderately short life. He saw a massive structure made of dark purple flesh that continuously squirmed and pulsed with life. James tried to gulp, but quickly found that he could not. In fact he didn't seem to have any saliva glands or anything that produced any sort of such a secretion.

To make matters worse, he found that he couldn't breathe like he used to. His mouth seemed to be doing all the breathing and he didn't have a nose or nostrils. He didn't have a tongue or a set of teeth but he had several small tentacles in his mouth that seemed to be as strong as human fingers.

Panicking, James attempted to move his head, and he felt his entire torso, without any arms, moving. His legs moved, except he felt about four pairs of short, stubby claws that were positioned very much like those of a caterpillar. James shuddered inside as his head slowly twisted and looked at the creature right next to him.

'Oh! Oh... Ah... SHIT!'

These could have been no proper words for the shock he just received. He was right next to a large worm, which was alarmingly similar to the Zerg Larva.

'This must be a dream.'

That particular denial disappeared quickly when something hit him from the side. James turned as quickly as his worm body would allow. He was staring at a Zerg Drone that just burst forth from a cocoon. A piece of that cocoon had hit him.

As James stared, the Zerg Drone moved away, staying above the ground with the help of rapidly vibrating wings. Stunned at the reality that just hit him, James attempted to confirm his dreaded suspicion. He rolled his body and attempted to take a look at his own body. In his eyes, a long worm-like body of a Zerg Larva appeared. Inside the new body, James screamed.

'WTF!'

* * *

><p>James Raynor was just a nerd.<p>

Well, he wasn't THE James Eugene Raynor, but he always aspired to be... at least while he was playing Starcraft II as a Terran.

James Malcolm Raynor was actually rather pleased with his name ever since Starcraft came out and became so popular. His high school friends, particularly his Korean friends, who previously had called him 'James', started to call him either 'Jim' or 'Raynor', which was gratifying after the unexciting life he led in his young years.

James really enjoyed Starcraft even though he wasn't a South Korean, and he played rather well. His first choice among the races were the Zerg, and he was really fascinated with that race of aliens. The Protoss were slightly humanoid, but the Zerg were something else.

Such bestial and alien appearance of the Zerg has appealed to him so much. Starcraft has opened a new horizon to this nerdy boy who enjoyed playing Magic the Gathering. He didn't like console games and the only PC game he had before was SimCity 2000, which became lame after James got his hands on Starcraft.

Over the years he continued to play Starcraft. Throughout his high school life he played Starcraft and Starcraft only. He didn't play any game made by Westwood, just because he thought that Westwood was somehow a rival of Blizzard, the famed maker of Starcraft.

He also enjoyed Warcraft 3 when it came out. He did play a little of World of Warcraft and Diablo series, but his attention was always on Starcraft. When the news of Starcraft 2's development hit his ears, he was over the moon in anticipation and excitement.

It took a while as he awaited the new game with the utmost patience. He didn't really care for all the storyline made up by the series of books published by some random writers. He wanted to play the game, and watch the cinematics.

He got one of the first copies of Starcraft 2 and immediately began to devour the campaign while enjoying the multiplayer games. He also enjoyed watching the battles played out on Youtube. It was Youtube that sparked the change in his life.

James was going through a series of videos on Youtube when he clicked on a wrong one. That video was a comparison between Starcraft 2 and Dawn of War 2. James did not know about the Warhammer 40K before this video. Surprised and impressed by the Dawn of War 2's graphics and the appearances of the Tyranids, James began to research the Warhammer 40K.

Now, he had two obsessions; Starcraft 2 and Warhammer 40K. Eventually, James decided to buy his first Warhammer 40K models. He used up most of the money he saved over the previous several years, splurging it on the plastic models. James really didn't have a life.

He bought the Warhammer 40K Rulebook, templates, Hobby Starter Set, Codices of Space Marines, Imperial Guard, Ork, Eldar, Chaos Marines and Chaos Daemons and Tyranids. He also bought a Battle Force box for each of the races, and being a fan of the Zerg, he bought several more Tyranid models to fulfill his desires.

James never realized that his obsessions and lack of self-control would cause his end. As he laboriously carried his massive boxes across a crosswalk, he did not see that the green light had turned to red, and a car had just turned the corner. Its view blocked by a van parked illegally near the corner, the car had struck James.

James did not even see the car that hit him.

* * *

><p>'So... I was carrying my 40K models, and I was crossing... the road. Huh... so... I died... and... I got reincarnated as a Zerg Larva? Well, that is convenient.'<p>

James had rather quickly accepted the truth of his current situation. After all, he liked the Zerg as a race. Now, he got to be a Zerg, although he did fear mutating into some random Zerg creature that would be thrown aside as cannon fodder.

'Well, I hope I turn into something like an Ultralisk. It would be cool to be an Ultralisk, and I won't die that easily as a huge monstrous creature with massive tusks.'

However, his priority was the sudden pang of hunger he felt within himself. James momentarily wondered what to eat. Then he noticed how his fellow larvae were eating the Creep beneath them.

'Uggh... this looks disgusting...'

Eventually, James gave up and used his mouth tentacles to scrape up some of the Creep. The Zerg Creep was the foundation of a Zerg colony. It fed the Zerg creatures and it sustained the structures, which were also living creatures.

'Actually, it's not bad... a bit like tasting a coin, but the texture is a bit like jelly.'

James began to eat the Creep more actively as his hunger took over him. When he was full, he looked up suddenly, as he recognized the sharp change in the lighting of his surroundings. He remembered it being brighter with a distinctly yellow sun up high in the sky, but now it was evening with the sun nearing the mountains.

It was only then that James also noticed a slight change in his body. He felt heavy and large. Also, he seemed to have eaten a lot of Creep and the area immediately around him was almost stripped bare. He quickly moved away, moving his tiny legs to remove himself from the evidence of his deviancy. The other larvae seemed oblivious to James' actions, however.

James noticed that he now had two more pairs of legs, which was unexpected. He was slightly more elongated than the rest of fellow larvae and thicker as well. He felt strong and full of energy, and also unsettlingly full of stuff. It felt as if he has overeaten himself.

'Could I be one of those special Zerg? Maybe I will become a Hunter Killer! Nice!'

It was the next day when something finally happened to James and its surroundings. In the morning, James saw a large body of the Queen from Starcraft 2 hastily moving toward the Hatchery where James and his fellow larvae belonged. The Queen sprayed green mucus on the Hatchery and James saw four cocoons, which looked like large pus-sacs, growing on the Hatchery.

While the new larvae were forming, James saw that his brother Larva was in a fetal position. It had bit its tail and was being slowly covered by Creep. Then, the Creep that covered it began to bloat and turned into the familiar shape of the cocoon. James became curious about that process as well as becoming increasingly curious about what will happen to him once he is turned into another Zerg creature.

Suddenly, a loud voice shouted inside his head. It was like listening to a large beehive, then the buzzing sound suddenly turning into a voice. James could not translate it into English, but he instinctively knew what the voice wanted him to do. It wanted him to turn into an Overlord. Overlords were the providers of control for the Zerg race. They were like mobile transmitters to maintain strong control over the myriads of lesser Zerg creatures.

Now, James did not want to become an Overlord. He knew that Overlords were useless in combat, particularly if this was Starcraft 2. An Overlord wasn't even a natural detector in Starcraft 2. Resigned to the fate of obscurity and mediocrity, James waited to be turned into an Overlord. Yet, nothing happened.

Another hour or so passed and the voice kept telling him to become an Overlord, but still nothing happened. During that hour the cocoon from the Larva next to him had changed appearance slightly, the metamorphosis inside it progressing. It was then that James understood his power. He could resist the command of the Hive!

'Does this mean I can turn into any creature I want? Wow... What should I become?'

The problem was that he didn't know how to turn into the cocoon to become a new Zerg creature. His mind obviously didn't work like the rest of the Zerg, otherwise he would have already turned into a cocoon. James pondered his options and considered his future. He needed to learn to mutate quickly or the others may notice that something is wrong with him, or some enemy might attack the colony. After all, there were the Terrans and Protoss who would not hesitate to kill him.

James munched the Creep as he thought hard about mutating. Then he noticed how the other larvae mutated. Taking the risk, James coiled his body and grabbed his tail by his mouth.

'Wow!'

When James bit his own tail, he was suddenly flooded with incredible waves of information. His vision has changed. It was as if James was Neo after he was blinded by Smith within Bane's body. James could see the pulsating life energy of the Swarm.

James opened his mouth and let the tail go, his vision fading back to normal. He paused as he processed what he just saw. In the vision, he felt as if he was surrounded by tentacles, each representing a Zerg creature he could mutate into. He saw a Drone and an Overlord, and the tentacles that represented them spawning from his own body while the tentacle for the Zergling was coming from the nearest Spawning Pool.

If he had a human face, he would have smiled.

He pondered his move. He could turn into a pair of Zerglings. That path would possibly allow him to have two bodies and some offensive capacity. However, he knew that Zerglings would die very fast if he was against the Protoss or Terrans. Since he had rejected Overlord, he now only had the option of turning into a Drone.

James had then considered the possibility of becoming a Hive, which would allow the construction of every Zerg structure and every Zerg unit. He would be stationary but he would be safe. After all, Hatcheries and their upgrades are well defended by the Swarm.

With that decision, he once again bit his tail. In his vision he chose the tentacle of life energy that represented a Drone, and he saw the genetic makeup of the creature represented by thousands of tiny threads of light. That wireframe of a Drone rushed toward James and James lost consciousness.

'How long was I out?'

James groaned as he opened his eyes again. He was inside a sac, which took a few moments for James to realize was his own cocoon. The cocoon was tight and his new wings and claws were crumpled together. Then before James could grab hold of himself, the cocoon burst apart.

James blinked his new eyes. He now had three pairs of eyes and the two front claws were his arms. It was weird. Also, the Drone was connected differently than the Larva. James instantly recognized that he was now able to know how much mineral and gas was gathered by this colony. The amount was not in the nice clean units seen in the games, but he felt how much there was, and how much of it was filling up the Creep.

Gathering a clawful of Creep, James began to eat it as he spread the new vibrating wings that kept him afloat. It appeared that the Drone's body had some sort of biological anti-gravity generator that kept most of its weight off the ground. The rest was done by the wings. James, quick to adapt to his new body, decided to follow a Drone that just sped past him.

It took a few minutes but James had successfully followed the other Drone to the side of a hill. If James had vocal cords like a human, he would have shouted 'Eureka!' but all he could scream was the sound of a Drone. What he saw was amazing. He saw massive crystals all along the hillside. Some were big and some were small but they were all there in their blue brilliance.

Curious, James approached one of the crystals and tapped it with his claws. The crystal felt a bit like glass. James looked around and saw other Drones mining the mineral crystals. Eager to try it out, James attempted to vomit, which seemed to be the thing that others were doing. Light brown liquid suddenly gushed out and spread over a chunk of the crystal.

James hesitantly tapped the crystal again with his claws, and unlike before, the crystal cracked with sharp sound. The mineral crystal had faults all over the body, and the liquid he shot out seeped into those microscopic cracks and widened them. James gnawed at those cracks and eventually broke off a chunk of mineral crystal. Happy about his first mining experience, he returned to the Hatchery and dumped it there.

Being a Drone, James had access to more information. He was now sharing some of the vision of others, although he had a suspicion that other Zerg creatures could not do the same for some reason. Ignoring the strangeness of that, James began to eat more Creep, hoping he could mutate into a Hatchery of his own. He knew that the Drone's body could contain enough minerals and gas to turn into a Hatchery and then to spread the Creep and spawn a few Drones.

Since he didn't really want to build a Hatchery near the existing colony, he decided to start his own somewhere far enough to not be disturbed yet close enough to call for help if someone attacks him. Accessing the Zerg's shared mind, James was able to locate an area of yet-to-be colonized flatland full of trees but with decent mineral deposits.

It was during this accessing that James found out a couple more things about himself as a Zerg. He could access the Zerg's shared mental links whenever he wanted, and he was on Aiur, the abandoned homeworld of the Protoss. This made James cautious to venture out alone. Although the Zerg dominated this world, the psionic impact of the Overmind's death had scarred the Zerg grievously.

It was only with the recent influx of genetic material and Overlords from the Primary Hive Cluster on Char that Kerrigan was able to exert some influence over the Zerg on Aiur. If it wasn't for that, James could have easily been killed by a random Zergling or something. Fortunately, James was lucky to be reborn at the right time.

Another thing James noticed as he moved about the colony was that he was able to influence some of the lesser Zerg creatures. Obviously he had more individuality and will than a normal Drone or Zergling. It did not work against the Queen or the Overlords, who were obviously more attuned to the voice of the Swarm, but the Zerglings were relatively easy to manipulate.

Eventually he found twenty or so Zerglings who weren't doing anything and convinced them to follow him. He understood that had Kerrigan been on Aiur or her control been any stronger, he would not have been able to this. In any case, he let a dozen Zerglings scout out the surroundings while the remaining ones would escort him to the site for the new colony.

The Zerglings reported no enemy in immediate area. So, James headed toward his Hatchery site. Once at the right location, he buried himself slightly under the ground and lost consciousness.

* * *

><p>As a Hatchery, James was able to sense everything in a wide area - almost as if he was actually playing Starcraft 2 as a Zerg player. Another thing he realized was that he was in direct control of his Larvae, and they only had a genetic link to the rest of the Swarm, therefore completely and solely under James' control.<p>

He also found that he could instantly transfer his consciousness to any Zerg creatures or structures of his own. His colony quickly grew in size and number, and in this early stage of the colony, he was able to directly control a dozen Drones without problem.

Feeling mentally taxed after his fifteenth Drone, he spawned an Overlord, which had a little mind of its own, though it was still completely enslaved to James. Through the Overlord, much of the Drones' actions became automated. He no longer had to micromanage the prosperous colony.

Within a couple of weeks from the initial colonization, James was able to spawn and control five Overlords and forty Drones, all dedicated to the gathering of minerals and raw materials. They would even hunt native animals once in a while and dump the meat into the Hatchery. Like a good Zerg player, James managed to create the basis of a good strong economy.

When his fifth Overlord saw six Protoss civilians and two Zealots wading through the jungles to evade the main colony, James had sent the rest of his Overlords to assess the situation. As the vision of the Overlords showed him the status of the surroundings, James immediately changed his tactics.

Previously, he has been operating under the assumption that Aiur was safe for him as the Protoss have all but fled. He was not entirely correct in that as there were still many Protoss who have been cut off from the Warp Gate, including those who would later become the Tal'darim.

James reacted quickly to the presence of the Protoss near his own position. A new Hatchery was built near the Vespene Gas sources and a Spawning Pool and Evolution Chamber. Although the Evolution Chamber was an old strain of DNA, it worked just as well. Also, James had several defensive structures built, although they were old style Sunken Colonies rather than the new Spine Crawlers.

With the presence of the Spawning Pool, James was now able to create Zerglings. After six more Overlords were created, James morphed forty eight larvae into Zerglings over the next two weeks. Letting half the Zerglings guard the Hatcheries and the other half scout the jungles for any Protoss settlement, James began to play the 'game' more properly.

Unlike the computer game, there was no 200 population limit. James quickly developed his new colony into a mighty Zerg Hive Cluster. His first Hatchery became a Lair and he had two other Hatcheries. He had two Spawning Pools, two Evolution Chambers, a Roach Warren, four Extractors, eleven Spore Crawlers, nine Spine Crawlers and six Sunken Colonies.

He had to 'borrow' several wayward Zerg units from the other colony but he was finally able to access the newer strains and DNA of the New Swarm, allowing James to get the new units he saw in Starcraft 2. It was around that time that he encountered the Protoss. The survivors have taken shelter around rock caves in the mountains, but one of their scouts was followed by the Zerglings of the other colony.

Alerted by the Zerglings, the other colony sent four more Zerglings to investigate, and James quickly sent fourteen Zerglings and four Roaches to 'support' them. Then, using Overlords to block out the link of the Queen of the other colony to its four Zerglings, his units ambushed the four Zerglings right before the eyes of the Protoss.

The Protoss civilians and the few remaining warriors were stunned at a force of Zerg units saving them, but James was not interesting in saving them out of his good nature. He had plans for them. While carefully hiding the Protoss settlement from the other Zerg, James carefully expanded his colony. His new 'Brood' quickly increased in size as his minions continued to spawn under his careful guidance. Also, he was able to amass quite a few Protoss technologies and artifacts as well as a considerable amount of Khaydarin crystals both in raw and processed forms.

So, by the time Zeratul had arrived to investigate the corpse of the Overmind, James was already controlling a small swarm of his own. Though Zeratul did not know it, it was James and his Brood who quarantined the area around the Overmind and blocked any Zerg reinforcements. In fact, James assailed several Hive Clusters and removed the more dangerous of the Zerg so that Zeratul would be able to receive the information he needed. This was important for James, since he really liked Zeratul and _the_ James Raynor.

Another advantage James gained by protecting Zeratul, was that James was able to swoop in after the Dark Templar had left and take over the Protoss structures. Zeratul has returned all his forces, including the few Colossi, back to Shakuras and left the planet altogether; all the structures were left behind fully powered. James had so coveted the Protoss Pylons, since his idea of increasing his control over his Brood through the Pylon was correct.

After Zeratul had left, James colonized the area where the Overmind was left slain. He now had over a hundred Overlords controlling over a thousand Zerg minions. Almost two hundred Drones scoured the surroundings areas and gathered any and all resources while several hundred Zerglings patrolled the borders. Hydralisks and Roaches found various chokepoints and ambush locations while Infestors positioned themselves in good positions as well.

However, when an alert from Kerrigan through the collective telepathic link was heard, James realized that he lacked the air units to guard him should he decide to head to Char to avoid any suspicions. Since he had assimilated the entire basic DNA distributed among the outer Hive Clusters as a basic template, he was able to construct Spires and Greater Spires.

Using the astronomical amount of resources he had gathered, James decided to aggressively expand his Brood. Within three weeks, over a thousand new Overlords were spawned by three Hives, five Lairs and eleven Hatcheries. Fully one hundred of those new Overlords were quickly turned into Overseers. Then James began to spawn more and more units, complementing his control through the Protoss Pylons he had placed around his Hives.

By the time Kerrigan recalled every Zerg in the Swarm to head to Char to fight the invading humans, James had formed quite an impressive Brood. He had just under a thousand Drones, fifty thousand Zerglings, six thousand Banelings, a thousand Roaches and eight hundred Hydralisks, a hundred Lurkers, a hundred Ultralisks, four hundred Mutalisks, a hundred Corruptors and Devourers each, twenty Brood Lords and thirty Guardians, forty Infestors and thirty Queens along with ten thousand Scourges.

Not only had James amassed a Brood mighty enough to defeat any single Hive Cluster or Zerg colony on Aiur, he had began a project to give himself a new body. He had taken the idea of Kerrigan and her humanoid body. He had also taken the idea of Zerg/Protoss hybrid. He was trying to form a Zerg/Protoss/Terran hybrid as his new form. In order to do that, he ambushed and captured the Protoss survivors he had kept safe while sending a taskforce to the nearest human world in order to grab some humans.

Meanwhile, James began to experiment with the Zerg DNA as the basis for his 'humanoid-body' project. He decided that he needed an awesome body in the mean time. He experimented with the Ultralisk, Hydralisk, Spine Crawler, Roach, Baneling, Brood Lord, Queen and Drone. Eventually, he created his first 'Ultimate Creation'.

He named it the Terrorlisk. It was not really a creature as such but a massive mobile Hive. It did have the size of a Zerg Hive, but it moved on hundreds of short tentacles and it had the tough carapace of an Ultralisk while being capable of spawning Larvae and explosive Broodlings that were mixed with Baneling DNA. Also, it could root itself into the ground, giving it healing similar to that of Roaches. A dozen spines on its back worked like Spine Crawlers and it spewed Creep Tumors wherever it went.

Moving his consciousness to the Terrorlisk, James organized his forces to depart Aiur. He fully intended to time his arrival on Char so that he could take over after Kerrigan became human again. Although he had left most of the old-style Zerg units back on Aiur and the structures still held some value, the majority of James' Brood began a long journey toward Char.


	2. Chapter 2 - The New Beginning

**Chapter 2**

The battle over Char was already underway, and when James arrived near the edge of the Char's star system, he was able to see the devastation of the battle. Hundreds of Terran battlecruisers were fighting against the unending Swarm that was the Zerg. It appeared that the massive space platform was still intact with all the Zerg flyers still on it. Either Raynor's Raiders have not yet attacked this platform, or they have attacked the Nydus caverns.

In any case, Kerrigan's control and influence were powerful here. James had to focus all his mental powers just to maintain control over his Brood. However, he was a man/Zerg of some ambition. He has long sought some human DNA so that he could eventually create himself a humanoid body like Kerrigan's, and there was so much DNA all over the area. Hiding from the Dominion fleet, James' Brood positioned itself behind the shadow of a planetoid, awaiting the right moment to strike.

His patience paid well. A few Mutalisks who sneaked past the Terrans showed James their progress against Kerrigan. They have finally gathered behind defensive lines under Jim Raynor's command and General Warfield has returned to the fleet. With so many ground based bio-weapons firing at the battlecruisers, the Terran fleet could only send small sorties against the Swarm's air unit nest. James, on the other hand, did not have such a problem.

When James' Brood appeared behind the space platform, the Terrans thought they were Zerg reinforcements and were surprised when the new player gently landed on the platforms and began to attack all the other Zerg on it. Overwhelming the defenders, James' Brood captured many Hatcheries, Lairs and Hives as well as the Spires and Greater Spires. Surprised and with Kerrigan preoccupied with the direct attack made against her, the Zerg on the platform reacted badly, and it was not long before James has slain all the Queens, Overlords and Overseers that belonged to Kerrigan.

Then James rained down his own Queens and swarmed the platform with Overseers and Overlords, temporarily overwhelming Kerrigan's control over the Zerg there. Then his Drones descended upon the Hive Clusters, and, aided by Zerglings and other ground units, destroyed and consumed all the others on that platform. The thick Creep that has been growing on that platform for years was eaten and devoured by James' creatures, transferring all the resources and nutrients that once belonged to this Brood into James' hands.

The Terrans and Kerrigan were locked in a deadly combat against each other, with most of the battlecruisers descending down to the planet to fight the Zerg while the remaining fleet stood a wary vigil against James. However, James was not interested in attacking them. After all, there were a lot of destroyed battlecruisers all around them. Overlords and Overseers began to drop Drones, Infestors and Queens on these broken pieces of Terran ships, quickly overwhelming the survivors.

The remaining Terran fleet attempted to stop the infestation of their comrades, but they were blocked by a swarm of Scourges and Corruptors. Hundreds of Dominion Marines and even some of Raynor's Raiders were captured, killed and consumed by the Zerg, although the Spectres were only stunned and captured. Soon, James controlled eight damaged but functioning battlecruisers and everything inside them, and he also captured enough broken bits of the Terran fleet to consume.

When the battle was near its end, James and all his Zerg units suddenly began to feel an overwhelming compulsion to charge toward the Xel'Naga artifact in Terran hands. James knew that to be near it was death, but the biological compulsion was far too much for his consciousness to defy.

James screamed as he felt his consciousness almost pulled apart by the biological and physiological urge to go toward the Xel'Naga artifact. He knew what would happen to him and his brood if they were within the artifact's area of detonation. He was not about to let his new found power be ripped apart by the Terrans.

He quickly disconnected his links to the majority of the flyers and troop-carrying Overlords. He did leave a certain number of Overseers and Overlords situated further from the planet, since he needed them to boost his control. After that, he began to pull all the remaining Zerg to the outermost edges of the space platform.

Then he focused his control on those still not affected by the pull of the artifact. He tore his consciousness from the Terrorlisk and moved to a Queen. Queens maintained a strong psionic field, and amplified by the half-dozen Protoss Pylons James deposited, he called his brood to him. Along with the Queen which now housed his consciousness, he took a few Drones and boarded an Overlord.

The rest of his brood quickly entered the Overlords, and two of the Overlords took a Pylon each. Then the pull came. James focused all his control on the first few units and commanded with all of his strength. Three Overseers were in the front, and they combined their psionic powers, opening a wormhole. This was done without a problem. Then James moved into the gaping maw of the wormhole along with several flyers and as many Overlords as possible.

However, he was a bit too late. In his attempt to escape, he chose to take several units with him just in case his Overlords would get attacked. He could just have transferred his consciousness back to Aiur, but Aiur was too far away. His consciousness would literally have to fly across the thin connection to his creatures. He instinctively knew that although the brood on Aiur was his, it would take years to regain consciousness and control if the main body of his consciousness was destroyed.

James wasn't sure how he knew, but he knew. He was certain that distance did matter and his brood on Aiur was probably on an automated mode like the rest of the abandoned Zerg colonies there. His need to feel in control was stronger than ever. He held on until the very last moment until a pulse of the artifact's energy washed over him.

* * *

><p>'Where am I?'<p>

I woke up.

_I_?

'Who am I?'

I had no idea who or what I was.

Then information flooded into me. The knowledge and memories of James Malcolm Raynor crashed into me like a kid on a bicycle while the collective and genetic knowledge and memories of James' Brood rained down on my consciousness.

'Am I James Malcolm Raynor? No… not quite.'

I was not James nor was I simply Zerg. Then I remembered what just happened. The presence of a human consciousness inside the Zerg when the Xel'Naga pulse hit the fleeing Zerg caused complications that nobody expected.

_I_ was created.

Just as the survivors entered the wormhole, the pulse hit the wormhole. It contorted and twisted. James died there. His consciousness was burned away by the Xel'Naga pulse, but his memories remained. Then, amid that chaos, _I_was created. The last remaining humanity of James Malcolm Raynor merged with the tiny bits of the Xel'Naga pulse energy and then liberally sprinkled with the genetic memories of the Zerg.

_I_ was new.

I thought for a moment as the creatures around me began to wake. Only one Overseer remained. I also saw a crippled Corruptor, three Mutalisks, and around me were seven Overlords filled with Zerg units plus the Overlord that I was in. I was the Queen… no… I was inside the Queen who was inside the Overlord.

I did not identify myself as the Queen. I did not identify myself as wholly Zerg either. No… I was… a human, just as James had been, but I… was new. I was the perfect hybrid… at least in terms of consciousness. I was not overwhelmed by the Zerg nor was I utterly human. Unlike James, I did not really need to transfer my consciousness to a particular unit. I maintained a perfect link with the Zerg creatures around me unlike James did.

My consciousness was also filled, to a part, with the power of the Xel'Naga. It appeared that the Xel'Naga artifact was very much like the weapon of Dakara from Stargate SG-1. It was originally used by the Xel'Naga in their experiments to create new species. They eventually moved to the idea of using preexisting creatures, such as the primitive ancestors of the Protoss or the first form of Zerg. However, with this power, I could conceivably toy with the Zerg DNA at a level that James could only have dreamed of.

Now, I was in charge. James was gone, though I thought I would keep the name, even if for personal use only. The first priority now was to find out where I am and then find the nearest habitable planet to root down and rest. I used the Overseer's and Overlords' powerful sensory organs to feel the galaxy. They could easily triangulate our position from the stars. All I knew at this point was that we were far enough from a solar system that no star was much brighter than the others.

It took a few hours but I found the nearest solar system. Although the Zerg can survive in the vacuum of space, it was not healthy. My Zergs also needed more heat or they would freeze. We needed the coordinates for a new wormhole, and the Overseer concluded the pinpointing of our location. I was not pleased.

'Shit… we are on the other side of the galaxy? And we are at the ass end of nowhere! Fine! Let's just get to the nearest solar system to thaw out our toes.'

The wormhole was a little more turbulent than I remembered. Actually, it was a hell of a ride. It was almost strange. The psionic field projected by the Overseer and Overlords that maintained our wormhole and allowed us to travel through it alive was constantly attacked by something. I could not see the attackers but the wormhole was very turbulent. However, the journey eventually ended. We popped out of the wormhole and found ourselves barely ten million kilometers from the sun.

Usually, the Overlord or the Overseer can send the Zerg to a location with a high level of accuracy, but I thought the turbulence in the subspace must have disrupted our exit. I guided the group away from the sun. Well, at least we were warmed up. We Zergs were very adaptive and highly efficient in absorbing and using energy and nutrients. Capable of converting almost any form of energy into a usable one, we could absorb heat from the sun to boost ourselves. This partial photosynthesis was not as efficient as other forms of energy absorption, but it was good enough for the moment.

It would have been good to land on a volcanic world or even a hot desert world. The reasons Char was the location of the Primary Hive Cluster were its rich mineral deposits and the heat from lava. I thought it would have been good for us to do the same. However, we were unlucky in that. The first three planets were no bigger than Earth's moon, and totally uninhabitable even for the Zerg. The fourth planet was a lush green world, though the water to land ratio was only around 1. It was still quite a warm place and filled with life. Also, I saw no signs of civilization, so no danger there.

I decided to establish my colony in the mountains. The primary resource consumed by the Zerg was minerals, and mountains usually do have some ore that can be mined. I did not choose a location too deep into the mountains since trees and animals were good to eat as well. Particularly, animals with high body mass allowed quick consumption and digestion of the right nutrients. I also made sure that the mountain range was within a decent distance from the sea. Crabs, lobsters and shellfish were always good for the Zerg in forming good carapaces and bones.

The atmospheric entry had to be gentle. I no longer had the landings sacs used by the normal Zerg Swarm. We had to gently fly down to the mountains in the large peninsula in the southern part of the main continent. The mountains were arranged like a spine. It was very much like the Italian peninsula except that it was about twice as wide, about 20% shorter, straight, and the same average altitude as Eastern Anatolia, with all the mountains broken up into smaller ones.

The forest was lush in the north of the diagonally positioned peninsula. Its north east connected to the large taller mountains in the main continental landmass. The south west was stretched into the sea down just past southern tropic. The planet was very Earth-like, and the axis tilt was only a little more angled, so the peninsula's north was quite warm thanks to its proximity to the equator and the south wasn't too bad either. Unfortunately, there were no active volcanoes, which was a pity.

We glided through the clouds and entered the planet's lower atmosphere. We drank plenty of moisture from the clouds to rejuvenate our metabolism. New mucus began to pool in the various glands of the Zerg creatures. The photosynthesis and new moisture activated the Overlords' Creep generating glands, though some of the creatures had them atrophied from the travel. The Overseer surveyed the sites while the Mutalisks and the single Corruptor moved around and sent back the visions. Eventually, I found the location I thought would be the best. The location was within a decent distance from the nearest forest while not actually being in it, and it wasn't high enough up the mountain to be cold.

As the Overlords descended alone without the support of the Mutalisks or the Corruptor, something attacked them. Local creatures. They looked suspiciously similar to the Wyverns in Warcraft 3, but only in their wings. Actually, they were insectoid creatures with large wings and no legs. They were like giant wasps but with three butts and stings. These were fired at the Overlords. The carapace easily blocked most of the stings, but three of the Overlords were greatly weakened, and their carapaces had been cracked. The swarm of local, obviously carnivorous bees swarmed over the bleeding Overlords and began to chew through the soft tissues beneath the carapace.

I quickly recalled the Mutalisks and the Corruptor. The insects were very instinct driven. They fled the scene the instant my air support arrived. However, the damage was done. Three Overlords could not recover. Their own weight collapsed upon them and they imploded. The sheer pressure crushed the creatures inside and they imploded along with their carrier. Fortunately, the Overlords died right above my choice location. I quickly landed my remaining forces to the ground.

Altogether, I was left with one Queen, one Ultralisk, one Infester, three Hydralisks, four Roaches, one Baneling, five Zerglings and five Drones. The first thing I did was to have the Queen plant a couple of Creep Tumors on the small patch of Creep pooling beneath the surviving Overlords. Using her remaining psionic energy, the Queen sprayed the still-bleeding Corruptor with healing mucus. The psionic energy was enough to shock the glands into overdrive and produce the mucus. With the Corruptor healed, I turned my focus on building a new Hive Cluster.

It was like playing one of these tutorial games, but without any safety features against dying. I had to build a Hatchery before anything else could be done. The problem was that this was no computer game and resources were not so communally shared. Overall, I had around 800 minerals or the equivalent of such, but no Drone had 300 minerals in itself. The absence of a Hive Cluster actually made quick resource-sharing almost impossible. It was a 'Chicken or Egg' situation.

Normally the Drones would only have needed to eat the Creep, with the minerals already present in that Creep as nutrients. With a Hatchery, the resources would be fed directly to Drones mutating into other structures. Unfortunately, the Creep I had was barely enough for us to even stand upon. The Overlords were greatly weakened and their Creep-producing organs did not have enough nutrients. The Creep Tumors would take root and absorb nutrients like plants did but it would not be enough to build a Hatchery. I thought for a moment about how to break the impasse. Then I remembered that there was a very good source of nutrients nearby.

The three dead Overlords and the contents of their bellies were piled into a giant heap of blood and flesh just at the edge of the clearing. If I was more human, then I would have smiled. As an Overmind, I was pleased and I sent the Drones there. I chose one and it dug into the mound of dead flesh. As the main Drone ate its former comrades, I had the other creatures dig a wide and deep hole. Then, I planted Creep Tumors around the hole. I intended to turn the hole into the Zerg version of a Digestion Pool. Without a Hatchery, the Digestion Pool of the Tyranids was a good idea. Besides, unlike the Tyranids, Zerg could consume anything including metal.

It took almost three hours as the Drone gorged itself with the dead flesh of Zerg and the Creep covered the edges of the Digestion Pool. Once I sensed that the Drone was filled with enough nutrients for a Hatchery, I let it build in the middle of the clearing. Then I had the other Drones put the remaining dead Zerg into the hole. As the Drones were laboring, I ordered the rest of the ground units to clear the area. They cut down the trees, each as tall as a house and as thick as a Protoss Pylon. The Ultralisks were massive and most effective in lumber-gathering. Their mighty Kaiser Blades made clean cuts and the Hydralisks and Roaches rolled the timber to the hole. Then the Zerglings would hack away at the timber and shred it into a dozen or so smaller blocks.

The Baneling, the only member of my group that had no real combat use by itself because of its single-use capacity, self-sacrificed. It flung itself into the hole and cut itself. It plowed its tiny claws into its own acid sacs just enough to not blow itself up but enough to ooze its acid. As long as it didn't damage a tiny sac of different chemical deep inside its body, the Baneling would not explode. The tiny sac of chemical contained a special organic chemical that explosively turned into gas, which sprayed the primary acid around the body. The powerful green acid seeped out, the mucus-coated hide of the Baneling protecting the creature. The green acid began to melt the dead Zerg and pieces of wood dumped into the hole.

After a few more timbers were added, and the Baneling almost dried up its acid, the Roaches gathered around and spewed their own acid into the pool. That acid was almost the same, but was a bit more effective against the Baneling's hide. The Queen fished the creature out as the Roach acid began to overpower it. As the acid melted the timber and flesh into basic elements, the Creep, protected by its own mucus, began to digest the acid and the melted nutrients. The Creep Tumors have also spread their roots into the Zerg Digestion Pool and began to thicken their pathetically thin Creep carpet.

As the Ultralisk continued to chop down timbers around the early cocoon of Hatchery, the Hydralisks and Zerglings hacked them away, and Drones carried them into the Digestion Pool, I examined myself. I was not like James or Kerrigan, nor was I like the original Overmind. I was a mix of both, and more than either. Unlike Kerrigan, a Cerebrate or the Overmind, I could not be destroyed by killing the body I was in. I was not like James either. I did not need to move my consciousness to directly control the Zerg. I _was_ the Zerg. I was an individual and yet the collective at the same time. I was... impossible... yet here. From my limited understanding, a Dark Templar could kill the body where my main consciousness was but I would still live. I would be scattered and would take some time to reassemble my own consciousness, but my mind would not be purged like James' was.

I was the new thing in town.

* * *

><p>720.M41 - Approximately 25 years before the Battle of Macragge.<p>

Segmentum Pacificus - Vorsk Sector - Cabulis System - Crux - Imperium of Man: Civilized World.

Sudden appearances of random Warp Storms in the sectors within Pacificus worried the Segmentum Command. They did not relish the idea of losing contact with Crux and the nearby Imperial Worlds. Unwilling to take any chances, the Segmentum Command boosted the number of patrols and increased the presence of Imperial Guards around key worlds.

One of the _Endurance_ Class Light Cruisers, having recently returned from patrol duty around the edge of the Star Charts and the edge of the Imperium, was refitted and restocked with supplies and troops. It now had new orders. It was to patrol the path to Ultima Macharia, the final frontier world of the Imperium that was established by the great Lord Commander Solar Macharius at the end of the Macharian Crusade.

The whole region has been under enormous pressure from various external threats as well as internal strife. The Chaos attacks around the Sabbat Worlds have brought uneasy attention from the high levels of Imperial government. Yet, the Segmentum Command did not act so rashly based on mere raids, despite the many lost ships that were sent to investigate. The rumors of a large fleet and armies to retake the Sabbat Worlds were still only rumors.

The _Endurance_ class ship did not participate in patrolling the edges of the Sabbat Worlds for a while, not since its near disastrous encounter with an Ork fleet followed by Chaos attack. For another decade, the ship and its crew were given leave and sent to patrol the edge of the galaxy. This, however, would be the last flight of this forgotten ship.

* * *

><p>600.M41 - Approximately 145 years before the Battle of Macragge<p>

Segmentum Pacificus - Unknown Solar System.

Beyond Segmentum Star Charts, North of Ultima Macharia, West of Sabatine.

With the silent thunders in the vast emptiness of the space, a tiny Warp storm emerged, and as if regurgitating a bad-tasting food, it spat out a crippled ship. This was the Endurance class Light Cruiser that departed Cabulis System 120 years in the future. It was heavily damaged and its life support was almost gone. The once-proud hull was torn apart and bits and pieces were corrupted by the influence of the Warp.

The remaining, and still sane, crew got aboard the still uncorrupted escape pods and jettisoned out toward the habitable planet. Then the ship exploded. The explosion swallowed many escape pods, but a good few hundred, each containing scores of men and women, rained down on the northern parts of the planet's main continent.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The name I gave to the Zerg version of the Digestion Pool of the Tyranids was the Nutrient Pit, and it has grown bigger as I had poured more things in. Tentacles, evolved from the roots of the Creep Tumors, dipped themselves into the green acid pool and would regularly flick non-corrodible materials out of the pool to keep it clean. The tentacles and roots were all covered in the same mucus that protected the Creep. They would suck in the nutrient saturated acid at the bottom of the pool and use these nutrients to strengthen the Creep. With Zerglings and Hydralisks sometimes bringing animal corpses, it had quickly become a good source of nutrients for the Creep, and in turn the Zerg.

With the immediate surroundings cleared of trees, the Ultralisk now worked alongside the Drones and began to delve into the mountain side. The Ultralisk would use its mighty Kaiser blades against the rocks and the Drones would carry them to the Nutrient Pit where the acid would corrode the metal within. The Creep Turmors would draw out the usable metals, refine them, and excrete them as a solid near the Hatchery. This was the only way of getting good minerals.

Although Drones gathered plenty of rocks and ores, their mineral content was quite poor. The Hatchery, containing a powerful digestive system, could ingest and process them, but it would still be like having only 1 or 2 minerals gained from each delivery. My mind sifted through the Zerg genetic knowledge and James' knowledge, and eventually came up with a good idea. I hurried since I needed to implement this before the Hatchery was fully mature or I might have to wait until the next cocoon.

The pulsing of the cocoon paused as I spent an hour rewriting parts of the Hatchery's DNA. My first Hatchery on this world. I made a few genetic modifications, particularly to increase its protection against acid through mucus secretion and add the capacity to draw minerals directly from the Nutrient Pit or through veins of Creep. This would allow me to construct several Nutrient Pits at key junctures without having to build a Hatchery where it would be of little strategic value. The old Swarm, living comfortably on worlds with mineral formations, would not need such evolution, but I did. I lacked almost everything. I had to make do with what I had.

Aside from the critical issue of minerals, the other key resource issue was the Vespene Gas, or the lack thereof. The Zerglings have searched for days and yet could not find a single geyser in the surrounding areas. Although it was not the most abundant of resources, the Vespene Gas was not uncommon on most worlds in the galaxy. Earth just happened to be lacking it by pure chance. I had to think fast and find a way to replace the gas until we found a geyser. Its lack was a problem. Actually, the real problem was that it was so effective. The Zerg have evolved without it at first, but since encountering it and discovering the efficiency of the gas, they have evolved to have great affinity to it.

Now that I had none, I had to find a way to somehow evolve without it. It was a very complex gas with a lot of different properties including the ability to awake and enhance psionic talents and the ability to enhance cellular mitosis. Without it, mass producing units such as Mutalisks, Corruptors and Brood Lords would be impossible, since they used the gas to create the organs that gave birth to the symbiotic ammunitions like the Glaive Wurms or the Broodlings. Banelings' organs produce massive amount of acid, and that's thanks to the gas affecting them. Hydralisks and Roaches need gas to be born since they need the organs that produce both the hormones responsible for regrowing the spines and the acid they shoot.

The only reason that Overlords and Queens could fly or use their abilities is because their original DNA was taken from species which already had natural mutations. However, this gave me just enough hints. I did not actually need the Vespene Gas. I only needed something that could work in a similar way. I sent the Zerglings and Hydralisks further away to find me anything that could work, and bring back samples of local plants and animals. It was hard work but it had to be done. Also, I ordered my units to flee and return at any sign of danger that they cannot handle. I had precious few minions and was reluctant to lose them.

Being grown in less than ideal circumstances, the Hatchery took almost four days to complete, and I focused my concentration on its growth while residing within the body of the Queen. I quickly ordered the Overlord with the Pylon inside its belly to place the Protoss artifact on top of the Hatchery. I modified the latter to grow three new primary respiratory vents so that the Pylon would not suffocate it. Tiny claws grabbed onto the Pylon and held it firm. Then I had the Queen carefully climb the Hatchery and use its claws to hack away bits from the large crystal. Without the Protoss band around it, any Khaydarin crystal would continue to suck the ambient energy from the surrounding environment and grow.

I had the Queen carefully plant the shards around the Nutrient Pit and connected the roots of the Creep Tumors to them. This would allow for two-way exchange of power. They crystals would feed the psionic energy into the Hatchery through the roots. With enough psionic energy, I could simulate the Vespene Gas to an extent. So long as this will be going on, the nutrients and ambient life energy would feed the crystals and make them grow. The bigger they are, the more energy they will give. Once the Hatchery was done, the Drones busied themselves carrying the refined metal formed through the excretion of the Tumors and feeding them to the Hatchery. With the Hatchery standing, I could finally feel the collective pool of resources once again.

Soon, the first Larva came out, and by that time, the Hatchery was sprayed with the growth hormone from the Queen and had six egg sacs growing on it. The genetic modification allowed up to twelve egg sacs, but the growth hormone would only generate six at a time, and the Hatchery needed some time to be capable to carrying six more. The first Larva was immediately turned into a cocoon, to become a Drone. By the time the new Drone was born, I had eight Larva; six from the Queen's help and two natural ones. They were all turned into Drones.

The first new Drone, as I feared, did not have the extra layers of carapace my current Drones had. This was a fear I had all along. We have gone for too long without contact with the previous Hive Cluster, and the upgrades have receded from the gene pool. I would need a new Evolution Chamber to upgrade them again. This always happened with new colonies set on different planets. Without being in some level of contact with the Hive Cluster, the DNA of the Zerg was once again locked up. This was not a coincidental factor. It was deliberately done by the Overmind or its unseen Master. I did not know the reason. Fortunately, this did not mean that the current minions would lose their upgrades.

It took a few more days until my Drone number was healthy. 47 Drones and 6 Overlords were newly born to serve my Brood. The Drones were rapidly gathering the desiccated flora around the colony and carrying the vast amount of rubble that the Ultralisk carved out of the mountain side. The Drones worked so hard and so well that they created a long and deep tunnel with the Ultralisk at the end. The great beast has become the Zerg version of a mining drill and the Drones carried the ores back to the surface. The ores from deeper under ground had a higher percentage of metal in them.

Soon there were enough resources to build a Spawning Pool. Since we were literally in the middle of nowhere, I did not feel the need to hurry the production of Zerglings. It was still needed but I took my time and created another 12 Drones before getting a Spawning Pool. As the Spawning Pool began to form at the edge of the clearing, I had the Ultralisk come out from the mineshafts to clear more trees. The trees were cut down and the Drones carried their trunks into the Nutrient Pit. While this was going on, the Queen and the Infestor entered the mines. The Queen planted Creep Tumors all the way in, while the Infestor sprayed the Fungal Growth all over the place. The Zerg fungus would flourish in that shaft and create an environment more suitable for the Zerg while the Creep would allow the Drones to stay down the mineshafts longer.

Several more days passed, and I was the proud owner of a brand-spanking-new Spawning Pool with an Evolution Chamber on its way. I had four Spine Crawlers built around the Hatchery, since that was the most important of the buildings. The primary production was still the Drones and Overlords, but I did have six Larvae set to become Zerglings and the Hatchery has just begun its production of a new Queen. The new Queen would be dedicated to spraying the growth hormones. As the new Zerglings were on its way, I sent the fully-upgraded old onrs out into the wild to scout the area further. I already surveyed the immediate surroundings quite thoroughly, as well as killed and digested several nests of some sort of canine creatures. Their DNA was crappy but they did have good nutrients.

As for the Mutalisks, I sent them further ahead to scout for any volcanic activities nearby. Volcanoes did sometimes form gas geysers, including Vespene, and even without this particular substance the volcanic gases were quite a good substitute. With the ground and air covered, I dedicated myself to the art of forced evolution through artificial mutations. This was necessary. The original Swarm had no imagination. Kerrigan was too focused on her own fate and her desires. James was too human and too stupid to use what he knew. I, on the other hand, had the advantages of them all. I had the imagination and the capability to bring that imagination into reality, and I had the inspiration from all that James knew. I was about to shift the paradigm of the Zerg evolution.

* * *

><p>"Daddy?"<p>

Little Alena was scared. She missed her father and came out to look for him in the woods. Her father and the other men from the village went to get timber from the forest. They moved in large groups to fend off the various dangers of the forest. However, Alena was a little too young to fully understand the danger. She wandered out, sneaking past the guard at the village gate.

She hummed little songs as she carried her basket, which contained lunch for her and her father. Alena made the content of the basket herself. She sliced a small loaf, for herself, and a bigger loaf for her daddy. Then she got a small berry jam jar and put it in the basket. That was the extent of the five year old girl's imagination. She hopped and skipped her way toward the wooded area behind the village. It was a little forest planted by the fathers of her grandfathers. It was well on the way to becoming a good source of wood for the village but not for many years yet.

So until this particular forest was ready to be cut down, the villagers would gather once or twice a month in the autumn to go to the southern forest and harvest lumber. They took half of all the ox-carts and horse-carts from the village and would return at the end of the day carrying dozens of thick trunks. The lumber mill inside the village would process these timbers for various uses, including reinforcing the wooden palisade around the village against the things that would attack the village.

These things were far too complicated for a five year old. Alena did not know about such things. All she knew was that her father would give her breakfast, then go to work, then come home at night, give her dinner and tell her stories about the God Emperor, the King, her mother, her older brother who went to become a soldier at the Baron's castle. She loved these story times, and she knew, from experience, that the nights her father returned from the timber harvest lacked the story time. Her father would try, but he would fall asleep too quickly. Alena decided to give her father some bread and jam so he won't be too tired to tell her stories.

Now, the problem was that she was lost. She got through the village forest, walked for an hour, and reached the edge of the southern forest. She always thought that a 'forest' was the thing near the village. This forest was old, and it was dark. It was scary. She could hear strange sounds. The bird songs seemed different here than what she heard at the village. It was so threatening. The mighty forest warned her not to come in. She was scared.

"Daddy?"

She called out to her father in tiny quivering voice. No one answered. Then she heard something.

"Wots dis? A humie Gretchin! Yum yum!"

"Da Boss wud luv to eat 'er up!"

"I wanna get 'er leg!"

"Yu's gonna eat Squigs not humie Gretchin! Da humie Gretchin is for the Boss."

"Which Boss? Da Big Boss or the us Boss?"

"Da Big Boss, yu idiot! The Warboss luv eating humies!"

Slowly, she turned around. To her left she saw four green creatures. They were wicked looking with big heads. Their skins were green, and though they were only slightly bigger than her, they looked menacing. This was particularly true since each of them held a tiny metal knife with a crude handle. Alena trembled as the four Gretchins argued among themselves as to who should deliver this tasty morsel to the Warboss.

"Daddy!"

Alena turned and ran. The Gretchins let out a howl of Orkish laughter and ran after her. It was only a few seconds later when her tiny feet got tangled up and she fell. She cried out in pain as the ankle was sprained, and then her scream became that of terror as the four Gretchins were almost upon her.

Graagh!

A sound of an animalistic howl like that of a wild cat was heard. Then with fast galloping of feet, a large creature, easily as big as a young calf, jumped at the Gretchins. It ran on four legs. It grabbed one of the Gretchins with its front claws and the pair of large claws on its back came down savagely upon the hapless creature. Red blood spilled as the Gretchin was easily torn into pieces.

The creature looked at her briefly then resumed its attack on the Gretchins.

* * *

><p>A part of my mind is always within each of my minions, though in most cases, it was nothing more than mere acknowledgement of their existence. However, when that particular Zergling, one of the Zerglings I had with me since the beginning, finally reached the end of the vast forest I decided to pay a little more attention. From the gaps in the trees, the Zergling saw the vast green plain stretching all the way to the shadowy presence of the mountains on the other side. It was a good sight. As a pure Zerg, the old Overmind would not have felt or understood the beauty of what I was seeing. It was the remnant of James that allowed me to appreciate the beauty of it.<p>

Then I heard, through the Zergling, humming. The Zergling hid behind a tree and saw a little girl in a yellowish white blouse tied up with leather belt around her waist. Her skirt was a nice purple color, but was obviously not washed often. She was a peasant girl of a medieval age, and she was human. I was surprised. It was obvious that I was not in the Koprulu Sector, but if this was a human colony, something was very wrong. This was not Earth, and yet I was seeing a human in medieval dress.

This did not make any sense. How did humans colonize a planet in medieval times, or humans with the technological level of space colonies wear medieval dress? Could she be from some open-air museum? She was too young for that. Suddenly, I noticed how scared she was. This little girl, with her bright green eyes and light brown hair, looked pretty for a human, and she was scared. I could see her eyes shivering in fear. Why did she come here? Then I heard her.

"Daddy?"

She was out here looking for her daddy. I quickly sent other Zerglings into the area to locate the other humans. I was in no mood to attack them but it was always good to know where things were. Knowing the territory is one of the key factors in winning a war. Then the Zergling's heightened senses detected something else. Four tiny creatures came out of the trees. They were green.

'What the hell are these?'

The girl noticed the green things too, and the green creatures noticed the girl. The four green creatures, carrying their tiny knives, spoke to each other as they kept their eyes on the girl.

"Wots dis? A humie Gretchin! Yum yum!"

"Da Boss wud luv to eat 'er up!"

"I wanna get 'er leg!"

"Yu's gonna eat Squigs not humie Gretchin! Da humie Gretchin is for the Boss."

"Which Boss? Da Big Boss or the us Boss?"

"Da Big Boss, yu idiot! The Warboss luv eating humies!"

There were three big letter floating in my head at that moment.

**'W'**

**'T'**

**'F'**

_**What The Fuck!**_ They were talking like the Orks and called the little girl a 'humie Gretchin'. Could this be? There was no explanation as to why these green creatures actually reminded me of James' memory about the Ork Gretchins, the tiny goblin-like creatures at the lower echelons of the Ork society. It was impossible.

Then the Gretchins moved and the girl ran. Something inside me broke. I felt emotional. I felt all the emotions of James Malcolm Raynor when his little sister Helen was hit by a car. She lived but James always felt bad whenever Helen limped. That car accident was engraved so deeply in his mind and soul that it affected me. I felt for this little girl. I wanted to save her. I felt something beyond the basic needs of the Swarm. The Zergling was charged with my emotional explosion, and it bolted out.

Its front claws grabbed the first Gretchin and the primary attack claws on the back went to work. At maximum upgrade, the claws were long, sharp and hard. They bit into the shoulders of the Gretchin and made cuts all the way down to its belly. The Gretchin was almost dead, but not quite. It still screamed hard despite the deep wounds on its body. The Zergling used the attack claws again, this time aiming for the head. The claws went deep into the Gretchin's brain and out the other side. The Orkoid creature died.

The remaining Gretchins reacted differently. One of them, the largest one, jumped at the Zergling with its knife, while another one turned back to the girl. The third one fled the scene as fast as it could. The Zergling roared at the attacking Gretchin and rammed into it, then turned around for the Gretchin attacking the girl. The claws dug deep into the back of the green creature and four strikes punctured holes in that body. With a tiny flash, the knife of the attacking Gretchin slashed at the thick, hard exoskeleton carapace. However, this Zergling was fully upgraded.

The Zergling grabbed the last Gretchin with front claws and bit into the Gretchin's neck. The dozens of teeth dug into the Gretchin's leathery skin and tore it away. The skin came off and muscles tore apart. The two hooked claws next to the mouth clamped down at the throat and the Zergling mouth chomped down into the Gretchin. It took a few more seconds for the Orkoid to die, but it did. The Zergling let the creature fall, and then turned around to look at the girl.

The girl still looked afraid but not as much. As the Zergling came closer and put its head in front of her face, she shut her eyes expecting a nasty painful bite. Death was still inconceivable to the girl. The bite never came. Instead, hot steamy breathe ruffled her hair as the Zergling smelt her. The sensation of her smell flooded me. The girl slowly opened her eyes. She saw the teeth-full face and cringed again. Then she opened her eyes again. She did that a couple of times again. Once she calmed down, she saw the Zergling lying down on the belly with its attack claws folded neatly.

She paused and then hesitantly let forth her hand to touch the Zergling on the head. Responding to my emotional status, the Zergling purred as her hand stroked its forehead. The girl seemed delighted by the response of the Zergling and continued to stroke it. She noticed the Gretchin blood on her fingertips where she touched the Zergling. She took out a large handkerchief with the other hand and cleared off the stains. Then, pausing for a moment, she began to clean the blood from the Zergling's face. She treated the deadly creature as if taking care of a large dog. My attention was focused on her and the Zergling.

* * *

><p>Alena was scared, but not anymore. A big dog-like thing came out and saved her. It didn't look like any dog she had ever seen but it saved her from the 'goblins'. She thought it would eat her but it lay down in front of her like a dog. She stroked it, and it purred like her neighbor's cat. Alena always wanted a dog, but her father would not hear of it. After all, dog was another mouth to feed, and they could not afford it. Alena envied her friends who had a dog or a cat. Now, she had this big thing that looked friendly. She hoped that her father would allow her to keep it if it followed her home.<p>

She remembered that she was looking for her father, and she attempted to stand up. Her sprained ankle hurt, and as a child, her balance was not that great. She tumbled and fell, but the dog-thing leaped to her and broke her fall. Then it turned around and patted the ground with its tail. Like any child, she was good in such body language. She accepted the offer and climbed atop the dog-thing. Her legs hung loose right in front of the wings and her hands held tight on the arms of the attack claws.

Alena rode the dog-thingy back toward the village, since she no longer wanted to go find her father but to wait for him at home instead. Possibly with a dog chain around her new pet so that father would allow her to keep it. She paused on the way to pick up some flowers, then chased some squirrels for a bit, and then went home as the sun began to set. By the time she was near the village, the torches were alight and they could see dozens of people carrying torches. She could hear her father in the distance talking to them.

"She cannot have gone far."

"Don't worry Elric, we will find her."

"Hey, what's that?"

The men turned around to see Alena riding on a strange creature. People immediately pointed their pitchforks at the creature at the sight of its teeth and claws, but Elric stopped them after seeing Alena stroke its head. Alena got off and ran to her father. They hugged tightly. Elric whispered in hoarse voice.

"Where have you been, Alena? When they said you were missing, I was so scared!"

Alena kissed her father on the cheek and smiled wide.

"I was bringing you picnic basket, daddy, and then I saw the goblins and the goblins tried to eat me, and then the doggy saved me."

Like a child of her age, all the unnecessary details of her day simply poured out. The adults, at first relieved about her safety, began to worry when they heard about the 'goblins'. One of them, a large man with a sword in leather sheath on his belt, knelt down next to Elric and Alena.

"Alena."

"Uncle Hargen!"

"Alena, tell me, what did these 'goblins' look like?"

Alena paused for a moment.

"Umm... they were green and small and with big head and big nose. They carried this tiny knife and spoke funny."

The crowd flinched at the description, and Alena got afraid at Hargen's grim expression. She was a child and she was afraid to get scolded. Hargen detected her fear and smiled again.

"It's okay, Alena. Now, you said that... dog saved you? It didn't attack you?"

"No, uncle. It came out of the trees and used its paws to make the goblins bleed and then one of the goblins came at me and the doggy stopped it and then turned around and bit the other goblin in the face. Then it sat down in front of me. It purrs like kitty when I stroke its head."

The crowd murmured and took glimpse at the Zergling. The Zergling yawned with its mouth wide open.


	4. Chapter 4

I own nothing that is not original...

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><p>Thanks for all the reviews!<p>

As for the Stargate: Galactic Imperium, it is not abandoned... but the long length of the chapters do require a lot of time to write. Please be patient with that. By the way, the chapter 82 will wrap up WH40K universe, and GEK will return to Stargate universe by the end of 83 or the beginning of 84.

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

"Come on, Tobias!"

Alena decided to call the Zergling 'Tobias' and kept it as a pet. Elric was not happy but agreed that saving the life of his daughter was worth letting the strange creature to sleep under his roof for few nights. He was hoping that the creature would answer the call of the wild and leave. That didn't happen.

"Catch!"

The large leather ball flew and Tobias went and grabbed it. It had retracted its teeth somehow and caught the ball without blowing it up. It used to blow up the ball a couple of times before it learned to retract the teeth, and now Elric didn't have to fix the damn ball again. Elric sighed and turned back to his work.

Elric was the only blacksmith in the village. His hammer smashed at the hot red glowing bit of steel. The regular beats of his hammer rang clear in the crisp morning air. As Elric sweated in his hammering, he noticed that he could not hear his daughter. Putting the steel back in the fire, he turned. He saw Alena crouched down on a box and watching him, one hand stroking the head of the purring Tobias.

At first the strange dog-thing didn't eat anything for the first day. Alena got worried, so Elric carefully put some meat on the dog bowl Alena got for the Zergling. It stared at Elric for a while then devoured it. It was a scary sight, and Elric almost reached for the large sword he hung on the wall. Then he saw how the Zergling played well with Alena and kept bullies off her.

The surprising thing was that the next day, the Zergling had disappeared in the morning. Alena was almost crying and Elric was trying to calm her down when the Zergling appeared with a large dead boar in its jaws. It dropped the kill and lay down in front of Alena. Leaving his daughter to play with the creature, Elric called Hargen and others to discuss the situation. They decided to hold a little party with the boar.

The town drank and ate, and the boar was a success. Also, the men discussed the possibility of Ork attack on the village. They had fought off the Ork invasion a decade ago, and the scar of that war still remained deep. There weren't that many able bodied men left in the village from previous generation. Elric's father was the village blacksmith ten years ago, but he died fighting the Orks.

The last Ork attack was beaten off from the combined might of the Kingdom and the Guards of the King using their 'magic weapon' that shot beams of light. The Baron and his fellow noblemen were also impressive as their swords, crackling with sparks of lightning, cut through the tough Ork flesh with ease. However, it had only been a decade and the Kingdom had barely recovered.

The decision was eventually made and the village decided to prepare for it. Elric and his two apprentices were given wages and food to continue working at the smithy rather than doing other odd jobs. Other workers including the tanner and the carpenter worked with Elric in making spears, shields and armor. They knew from experience that simple wooden shields cannot block an Ork's attack.

In the last week, Elric had made a dozen circular steel plates which were sent to the carpenter's shop, where the carpenter would hammer down the leather-bound wooden shield part between two plates, which is then sent to the tannery to get the leather handles. The six shields were just the beginning. The village had a couple of swordsmen and they had a sword each, but that was it.

Elric brought out three more swords his father had made long ago from his attic and placed them in the temporary village armory. Elric had one of his apprentices to make the steel plates for the shields while the other made small rectangular pieces to attach to leather armors. Elric himself made swords. He made one sword every two days. Three swords were made for the village, so in total there were eight swords in a village with thirty nine adult men and eleven young men. It was far inadequate if the Orks attacked right then.

The silent fear in the hearts of these men did not discourage the younger children from enjoying their lives. Their current attention was on Alena's new pet. It was not like any other dogs or cats. It was big, and it had claws so big. Also, it scared hell out of all the other dogs and cats. Alena was the queen in the hierarchy of the children within few days of Tobias. Also the fact that Tobias regularly brought back game from the forest made him the favorite.

Meat was usually rare fare for the village of farmers and woodmen, but thanks to Tobias the men and women of the village got to eat more meat than they ever had before. Though unaware, Tobias had fed the village well with proteins for the muscle growth, and thereby contributed in the fight against the Orks in the months to come.

Tobias soon became a permanent fixture in the village within mere weeks. As the villagers got well fed and stronger, they preparation began to get well on the way. Within the month, much of the spare iron in the village had turned into shields, swords and spears as well as arrow tips, though the village needed more. 21 swords were made, and 16 spears and 11 bows were prepared while 8 leather armor with steel plates and 9 simple leather armor were ready, and 19 shields were prepared as well.

Hargen and Elric, the most respected men in the village decided to sell some of the meat that Tobias kept bringing in and buy more iron. Rest of the materials was easy find except for iron. The riverbanks were full of those tough reeds that requires sharp sickle just to cut, and they made the arrows. All they needed were the arrow tips. The women of the village kept making the arrows without the tips.

So, they sent a rider to the town of Hilgerd, where the Baron Hilgerd lived. The merchants lived in the towns, and sometimes they would send a convoy carrying various goods that villages could not make, including salt and iron. It would still be at least a month until the regular convoy would arrive but they needed iron right away. Hargen and Elric knew that they would probably get ripped off by the merchant, but the village teacher Thomus, the only man in the village who could actually write properly, wrote letters explaining things.

The rider would deliver the letter to the castle and then go to the merchant and ask for an earlier convoy. Of course, the villagers did not expect a wide-scale invasion of Orks but a minor incursion. They had no idea that the presence of the Zerg would change a lot of things.

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><p>I enjoyed the several weeks spent in the human village as the Tobias the Zergling. Although the Spawning Pool, the Roach Warren, the Evolution Chamber and the Baneling Nest were already constructed, the only minions I could create were the Zerglings, Drones and Overlords. Fortunately, the Drones discovered deposits of sulfur and the Mutalisks found volcanic activities in the southern edge of the peninsula.<p>

Although the volcanic gas wasn't as good as the Vespene Gas, they were once used as the evolutionary catalyst for the Zerg before they encountered Vespene Gas. Then mixing sulfur and a few chemical compounds with the liquefied volcanic gas would make it almost as good. The volcanic gas did contain a little part of Vespene, so that wasn't too bad at all.

The collection of those gases would be hideously difficult, but using the Overlords with transport capacity, I had deposited Drones in that area, and protected by the Mutalisks, they built a couple of Extractors in more stable areas near the volcano. Then, after the Drones finished collected the cocoons containing the liquefied gas, the Overlords would carry the Drones back.

After the first collection, I sent a few un-upgraded Zerglings and a Queen to oversee the protection of our gas source. I was not willing to risk a Hatchery there for mere two Extractors when there was a chance of volcanic eruption. Instead, I had the Queen plant a few Creep Tumors and then built a half dozen Spine Crawlers and three Spore Crawlers. The Zerglings were ordered to patrol the surroundings and protect the Extractors.

I realized that I needed to expand my base and expand the number of my minions to survive in this environment of low resources and no chance of reinforcement. Also, there was the chance of meeting Orks. I still regarded that encounter as a freak accident rather than think that I was in Warhammer 40K universe. After all, how absurd is that?

I thought that it was not so impossible for creatures that looked-like Gretchins to exist somewhere in the vastness of the galaxy. It was willing to admit that, and I was also willing to admit that the humans must be some special colony where they decided to abandon all technology, like the Amish in USA. That was the extent of my willingness to believe in Orks and space colony humans without technology.

However, the Zerg in me warned of possible hostile encounters. The Queen kept up the increased Larvae production while the Hatchery continued to produce Drones, Overlords and Zerglings. Within weeks, I had nearly a hundred Zerglings, though none of them had any upgrades. Since the gas were coming into play, albeit slowly, the upgrades and possibility of upper echelon units were not too far off.

The first use of the newly arrived gas resource was to create the Baneling Nest. In enough numbers, I could use them to clear out vast areas of forest and mountains for bigger Hive Cluster. The presence of Roaches was also an issue. The Roaches were powerful creatures, and if it was true that there were Orks beyond the Gretchins, I may need the bulky bodies of Roaches and their powerful attacks.

I already had nearly 14 Spine Crawlers and 7 Spore Crawlers all around the Primary Hive Cluster, so I was not too bad in defense, but they would not stop a flood of Ork army. I needed something to fight the Orks on equal terms. I thought that a combination of Roaches, Zerglings and Banelings would do the trick. So, I invested more Drones into the harvesting of gas and sulfur.

There were also two new mining shafts on different sides of the colony. The Ultralisk worked tirelessly to make the new shafts and the swarms of Drones continued to feed the Nutrient Pit with ores. Remaining Drones were also put to work clearing a path to south. I wanted to build a series of Hive Clusters between the volcanic southern part of the peninsula and the Primary Hive Cluster.

The cleared vegetations and killed animals were all dropped into the Nutrient Pit and Roaches were extra busy spewing acid into the pit. Sometimes the pit would swell up but I had the Hatchery draw more acid malt to digest. I continued to make more Drones and Zerglings, and soon I was able to make six Roaches. I needed some intelligence in finding where the Orks were.

I sent the Overseer in the direction of the Gretchin's appearance, and then sent it southward. The hills appeared. The mountains appeared. Then the sparse forest appeared. Then there were hills again and the Overseer saw something at the edge of another forest. It was a tiny dot from the sky. When Overseer descended a little and focused the eyes at the dot. It was an Ork base.

It was very similar to the human village in its size but it was shabby. It was made with rock, trees and bits of metal were stuck to the walls. It was messy and it was ugly. Also, it was filled with Orks. The Ork village was built in the forest and without actually clearing the forest. There were trees still in the base with Ork fungus growing on the fallen logs and mushy ground.

There were hundreds of Gretchins and scores of Orks. They didn't have guns, but they did have big axes and swords. They were grunting at each other and hitting each other with their heads. The head butting must be some sort of their crude ritual. I had the Overseer spit out a Changeling. With the Overseer focused on a Gretchin, the Changeling transformed into a Gretchin.

The Orks were preparing for a war. They probably were always at war footing but they were bustling for war. This was not triggered by anything but because they were Orks. These were not the Orks that I imagined. They did not have the Sluggas or Shootas. They didn't have tanks or Killa Kans. They were feral Orks. They were even more primitive than the humans.

The humans were also preparing for war. Although their preparation was weak and much less militaristic, they were organized. My Zergling inside their village, named Tobias by the girl now identified as Alena, noticed that the people were making weapons and men were using sticks to practice swordplay. They also sent a rider on a horse to somewhere.

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><p>"Orks?"<p>

"Yes, baron."

The young baron scoffed as he waved away the messenger. He sat in his plush chair and looked at his advisor.

"What do you think?"

The advisor, a man in heavy plate armor, raised an eyebrow and picked out a rolled map from the bookshelf next to him. He spread it out on the large table.

"This village... Village Polton is right at the edge of your fiefdom and at the edge of the Kingdom too. To the south west is the Dark Forest, and to the direct south are the Brown Hills, then the Brown Mountains and then the Orklands."

The young baron, barely thirty, had thin moustache and he stroked it gently.

"So the Ork threat could be real?"

The knight nodded.

"Yes, baron. It has been ten years, and..."

The baron picked up the thin dagger on the table and stuck it at the Orkland part of the map.

"What was it like? You fought the Orks ten years ago, Sir Beleth. You led my father's knights against the Orks in the Orton Valley and blocked their flanking move against the King's Army."

The knight nodded as he sat down across the baron.

"Yes... Yes, I did. It was glorious. It was truly a victory worthy of the God Emperor's name."

The baron cringed at the name of the Emperor.

"Don't tell me you are still one of those Imperialist Cultist."

The knight raised his eyebrows.

"You should be careful, baron. If you father was alive, you would have been flogged for your heresy."

"He is dead, and has been dead for a decade. I don't care what the King and the old nobles say. I don't believe that the God Emperor will save us from the swinging axe of an Ork. I know you don't believe that either, because if you actually believed that, then you would have chopped my head off years ago."

Beleth sighed deeply.

"When did you lose your faith so much, my young master?"

The baron's face darkened.

"When the vaunted God Emperor refused to save my father."

"That... that was unavoidable."

"So you have said many times."

There was silence. Then the baron spoke again.

"If this is going to be a big attack, then we should be prepared. If this is going to be like the last invasion, then we need to send word to the King."

Beleth shook his head.

"He was reluctant to commit his troops then, and he would be now. Last time, he saw both fiefdoms in the south destroyed before he sent this army. Now we are the forefront of this war."

The baron stroked his beard again.

"Tell me about the Orks."

Beleth nodded.

"Well, Baron Orlando, the Orks are ferocious creatures. They are strong and fast. They love fighting and some of the bigger ones carry boomsticks that fire metal balls with large explosive booms."

Orlando blinked.

"They have gunpowder?"

"Not many boomsticks but they do seem to have some gunpowder."

"If that is true... we need cannons. Do you think the King will provide them?"

Beleth shook his head.

"No... the King will not share them. Neither he nor any of his ancestors have shared their 'magic' weapons with anyone but their closest nobles."

"Who would help us against gunpowder weapons?"

"Hmmm... Duke Hest or Count Faridin may provide their Guards. The King's Imperial Guards will not budge, particularly with the young Duke Galav unifying the northern nobles against the king."

Orlando sighed.

"We should at least prepare for ground attacks. What can I afford?"

"I think you should talk to your Chief Butler, but you have nine fief-knights and they have total of about a hundred well armed men with sword and armor. You have twenty-two armored knights and myself, sixty swordsmen, one hundred ten spearmen, thirty five archers and two hundred eighty men-at-arms with their own weapons."

Orlando frowned.

"How many horses beyond the knights?"

"Fourteen horses in your stables, but I think we can get about thirty more if you can pay for it."

"This is going to cost me a lot..."

"Yes."

"If what you told me about the Orks, then I will need to arm the two hundred eighty men-at-arms with good weapons and armors."

"Then train them."

"Yes.

"That's all money. I am not one of those wealthy eastern barons. I don't think I can actually afford all that."

"Then you will see your fiefdom fall at the hands of the Orks."

Orlando shook his head.

"That I cannot allow. Send words to anyone willing to listen. I need their support fighting the Orks. I am their fence, and it's damn time that they help fix it."

"Yes, my lord."

"Now, I got to practice my sword again."

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><p>The merchant's convoy came, but it did not come alone. It came with unhappy visitor. The merchant convoy of four caravans was headed by a man on horse and ten well armed men. The horsed man was wearing pompous clothes and carried a rapier. He was the most unwelcome man in most of the fiefdom. He was the tax collector.<p>

As Elric and Hargen greeted the convoy, their face hardened to see the tax collector. The village chief, the old man Volran, one-armed warrior who wielded an axe, came out at the word. The tax collector got off his horse and faced the chief. Although the chief was about a head taller and full of muscled despite nearly forty years old body, the chubby tax collector held his head high.

The chief bowed his head.

"Master Nellus, you grace us with your presence much earlier than expected. The harvest has not yet begun."

Nellus the tax collector scoffed.

"Well, I will come back again at harvest, chief Volran. I am here because of the special tax."

"Special tax?"

"Oh, yes. Thanks to your warnings about the impending Ork invasion, the Baron Olrando has issued special tax decree."

"What?"

"We are drafting special tax. You are to hand over ten swords, ten spears, five bows and ten suits of armor. Also, I am drafting ten of your youngest adults."

Hargen and Elric had to grab Volran back from hitting the taxman. Volran breathed deep.

"Master Nellus, does the Baron not realize that our village will be at the very front of this Ork attack? We need every man and woman defending the village? In fact, we should be asking the Baron for men and weapons. Now, you want to take weapons and men from us?"

Nellus was quick for a chubby man when he drew his rapier. The narrow blade stopped right in front of Volran's neck.

"Any sign of refusal could easily be interpreted as a sign of rebellion, chief."

When Volran nodded, Nellus sheathed the blade. Then he saw Alena and Tobias watching from behind. Nellus frowned.

"What is that creature?"

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><p>Let's welcome Toby the Zergling!<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

I own nothing that is not original...

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><p>Thanks for all the reviews!<p>

As for the Stargate: Galactic Imperium, it is not abandoned. However, I am having a major writer's block for the next chapter. I need to somehow make Jaffa introduce GEK to the Imperium without the Imperium blasting away the Jaffa.

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

"What is that creature?"

Volran turned around and saw Alena and Tobias. He sighed lightly and turned back to Nellus with a smile.

"It's just a local beast we have found in the Dark Forest. I am sure it is a new species we have found. It seems to be taming well. The girl has been training it."

However, Nellus' eyes narrowed. His chubby cheeks shook with intense thought. Then he smiled in that nasty way that most fat, low-level villains do when they are scheming against the protagonists. Nellus took out his rapier once again and pointed at Tobias. Feeling the hostile intentions, Toby's attack claws unfolded. Nellus suddenly shouted.

"A daemon hound! You dare harbor a daemon hound? That girl must also be an accomplice! I will have the Imperial Cult and the King's Inquisitors swarming upon your village!"

The villagers tensed. They did have some reservation about Toby because of his looks, but he had been good to them with all the meat he brought in. Also, they didn't like Nellus. Volran, however, was much shrewder than the others. He took a step to block Nellus' vision and took out a pouch from his belt.

When the pouch jingled with metallic clanging of coins, Nellus' outraged expression softened markedly. Volran spoke in hushed voice.

"I am sure you are mistake. The light must have confused you."

Nellus paused for a moment, and then took the pouch.

"I could have been mistaken, but the creature does look too... dangerous to be normal. Mutants are also an enemy of the King's Inquisitors."

Volran narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms.

"What other 'proof' can we provide you to satisfy your questions, Master Taxman?"

Nellus smiled.

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><p>An hour later, Nellus and his ten soldiers rode out of the village leading a cart drawn by two horses. The cart was full. Beside the things demanded by the Baron, the cart also carried two sacks of wheat, two sacks of beetroot, a sack of carrots, three rolls of cloth, five pieces of leather and a large slab of salted boar meat.<p>

Nellus and his men were half a day out of the village when they stopped at the crossroad. Nellus turned around and narrowed his eyes in deep thought. Then turned back to his men.

"Six of you will deliver the Baron's tax to his castle, and two of you will deliver the rest to my house. The remaining two of you will come with me."

After separating from his men, Nellus headed to the nearest monastery and had the scribe write a letter to the King's Inquisition. The monastery was dedicated to the God Emperor but was not really part of the Imperial Cult. These were the local priests who did simple tasks such as blessing the newborn and the dead.

Sending the letter to the King's Inquisition at the hands of the two men, Nellus rode toward the nearest Imperial Cult monastery. For three days he rode his horse hard and purchased a new horse with the money he got from the village. On the fourth day, he arrived at the huge fortress-like monastery belonging to the local chapter of the Imperial Cult and their military.

Within hours of his arrival, the monastery sent out a dozen carrier pigeons and the church soldiers were arming themselves. Returning to the Baron's castle, Nellus gentled opened up his shirt and touched the small burn-scar right above his heart. It was a big 'I', the symbol of a servant of the Cult.

In the meantime, the capital city had its own set of bustling movements. A dozen or so Inquisitors, the King's secret police who dealt harshly with any dissidents, heretics and witches, quickly returned to their headquarters with their troops. A message was sent to the King, and the King dispatched a renowned knight in heavy armor and a dozen of his Imperial Guardsmen. The King's Inquisition provided the rest of the troops.

Nearly thirty knights, all under the purview of the Inquisition armed themselves. Ten knights were on horses with finest armor and weapon, while twenty were on foot and had little less ornate armor but still well-armed. An Inquisitor entered the city's barracks with orders from the King, and he came back out with fifty archers, and a hundred swordsmen with chainmail, long sword and kite shield. Then two Inquisitors came back from outside the city and brought with them a hundred pikemen each, who were armed with a long pike and think chainmail.

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><p>The Overseer continued to travel further south. The sparse forest upon the vast hills changed as the climate changed. As the land became colder, the trees became taller and greener. The boreal forest continue to dominate the landscape. Amid the forest were dozens of small Ork villages sparsely located around the forest to the south. The Orks thrived in the forest and large bear-like creatures that fought them. The forest was infested with the giant bear-like creature with thick hide and sharp claws. Although the Orks were stronger individually, the bear-creatures spawned a lot faster than the Orks.<p>

The bear-creatures were actually insects and they spawned through sacs of egg. Each female would lay a sac that contained nutrient-rich eggs by their hundreds. Normally, most of the eggs would be consumed by the local creatures, and the tiny younglings were eaten by the larger predators. However, in the last several hundred years, the local predators were hunted and consumed by the Orks, and as the result, the eggs hatched and survived. Then once they grow to maturity within months, they would hunt the Orks. The Orks loved it. They loved to fight, and this was the fight to the death every day.

However, the bear-creatures lived only the cold areas, making the northern territories of the Orklands, which was warmer, didn't have as many bear-creatures. This naturally meant that fewer Orks would live there since less fighting would be found there. The first Ork village found at the edge of the forest was filled with weakest Orks. It was the smallest Ork village. The Overseer was able to gather so much information about the local Orks through a good use of Changelings.

The Overseer was able to find that the Ork invasion was indeed in the planning stages, but not in such scale that the humans had expected. It was the only one large clan, the weakest of them who resided to the north, who wanted to invade the humans for the fight and for resources. The five larger clans, each of them being almost double the weakest clan in number and weapons, were too busy fighting each other and the bear-creatures.

I was able to gain an understanding of the possible invasion size. The Warboss of the clan was not about to leave his base empty, so he would only commit about a third of his forces, which should number no more than fifteen hundred units, including a large number of Gretchins. The Gretchins were still the majority of this feral Ork clan and the guns were scarce among them. However, they did have a Squiggoth. If humans or I was to fight these invading Orks, then the presence of the Squiggoth should really be considered.

In order to fight an Ork invasion of such size, I had to move fast. I needed more resources and more units. Although I had my fifth Hatchery built near the volcano, I still needed better way of collecting gas. Then I remembered what I did with the Hatchery roots and the Nutrient Pits. The new Hatcheries would automatically have a Nutrient Pit built near them, and the new Nutrient Pits would automatically oozing a better acid for the Hatchery to absorb.

The idea of the Hatchery root being the primary method of the obtaining the resources gave me an idea. I had a Queen plant a series of Creep Tumors between an Extractor and the Hatchery. Extending the Hatchery root, I had the Creep Tumor dig deeper into the ground and form a tube of hardened creep underneath the tumor. It took several different methods but eventually I got the combination correctly.

With the liquefied volcanic gas pouring into the Hatchery through the Creep Veins, I was able to build and connected eight more Extractors and then link the Hatchery with the Primary Hive Cluster. Other Hatcheries were also built near resource rich areas including near a large deposit of sulfur, which was vital in fabricating Vespene gas effect. Once the Creep Veins were well connected, I rerouted the Drones to other Hatcheries and assigned them new mining missions.

Feeling pressed for time, I quickly expended all my minerals to the construction of more Hatcheries, Queens, Drones, Overlords and Zerglings. Also, I made more Roaches and a few Banelings. Also, the first Hatchery was now in a cocoon to become a Lair. I made another Hatchery into a Lair just in case, and I had the resources. The idea was that Squiggoth could be effectively dealt with Ultralisks combined with air units.

Once the Lairs were done, I had three Spires built as well as a Hydralisk Den and an Infestation Pit to facilitate the upgrade to Hive. While the new buildings were being built, I had more Spine Crawlers built around the Hive Clusters. The Drones were working hard as the colony became larger every day. I now infested an area equal to Ireland, though most of that infestation was the Creep and Creep Tumors. I also continued to make more Zerglings as they were my primary warriors.

However, the problem was that this was not Starcraft 2 the game. The enemy did not have 200 population limit where 100 Zerglings would be a serious problem. In this world, in this galaxy, 100 Zerglings were nothing to the scales of war. The 'feral' Orks numbered in tens of thousands and they were the leftovers of an Ork invasion grown from the few Orks spores. If I was ever to get off this planet, I needed the numbers and individual strengths to fight in a scale of war that is much larger than anything I had ever known.

Although I had used up some more gas, I attempted to experiment with the Zergling DNA strains. I first tried to remember the little information James had before he died. There were rumors of upgrades for the Heart of the Swarm, the expansion of the Starcraft 2. The ideas of Swarmling and Raptors were in James' memory as well as Gorgeling and Splitterling. The Swarmling was a good idea to provide significant number of Zerglings into the battle in short amount of time while the Raptors would be stronger and able to strike hard.

Unlike Kerrigan or James, I had full access to the genetic knowledge of the Zerg Swarm, including all that original Overmind had absorbed from the last of the Xel'naga. The knowledge into genetic manipulation was impressive, and my unique capacity to influence the genes like James was able to, I could easily make the Swarmlings and Raptors, albeit the research would cost me much gas and minerals in the process. However, I was in need of such units, and had enough resources for it.

The development and experiments, however, would require time, and time was something I had very little of. With at least nine Extractors providing my Swarm with gas and eleven mineshafts full of Drones stockpiling minerals was not quite enough to cover for the lack of time. The Orks were mobilizing and would invade within few weeks and the villagers weren't ready to fight them at all, let alone fight fifteen hundred Orks with a Squiggoth.

In order to save Alena, though I still didn't quite understand why I wanted to save her and her village, I needed to fight the Orks, and I didn't have the numbers. By the time Orks would march, I would probably have five hundred Zerglings at most and no more than one hundred fifty Roaches and fifty Hydralisks. If I timed it right, I could also get three Ultraliks, but that was pushing it. I could probably get a few Infesters and about thirty Mutalisks, but that was pushing it too.

In any case, I had work to do, and I was on it with all my consciousness. The Queens continued to pump hormones and enzymes at the Hatcheries and Larvae would turn into Overlords and other units. I continued to make more units, but I was only barely catching up to the estimates I had set out beforehand. Then something worse happened. One of my new Overseers saw a small army of humans coming in the direction of the village.

I had placed four Overseers in the human realm, with one near Alena's village and another at the Baron's castle and town. Other two were deeper into the human land and regularly used the changelings to check out the humans' movements. Then one of the Changelings, pretending to be a random mercenary in a tavern heard about a small army sent against a village that had a 'daemon hound', the name Toby was called by the chubby taxman. I instinctively knew something was wrong. The Overseer looked for that army.

Indeed, it was a small army for this galaxy. Made up of three hundred eighty men and a powerful-looking knight in the lead, the men were ready for war. The problem was that the men were not coming to fight the Orks, but kill the villagers and, more importantly, kill Alena and Toby. Another problem was that the Orks were moving. The Overseer had tracked the movements of the Ork clan and the Warboss finally appeared with a large army and the Squiggoth behind him. I did not have the Zerglings to spare.

Several ideas went through my head. Mutalisks would be effective in wiping out the humans, but I needed them against the Orks, and while Zerglings in enough numbers would do the trick, I also needed them against the Orks. Hydralisks and Roaches would be effective but I could not spare them or risk them. I did have a few Infesters on my hand as well as a handful of Banelings. I had hoped to use Banelings to cut off the retreating Orks or support against the Warboss, but I would have to do without them.

With the fully upgraded 'old' Infester as its leader, four Infesters and thirty Banelings were loaded on to the Overlords and shipped north to counter the humans. The rest of my army moved out against the Orks once three Ultralisks were born. The idea was to have my units burrowed underground until the right moment. I had that ability upgraded as soon as I could. I still had some Banelings so I sent them first to get into right position.

Against the Orks, I had 3 Ultralisks, 49 or so Hydralisks, 144 Roaches and 497 Zerglings supported by 31 Mutalisks. I just had hoped that the Orks didn't have too many guns.

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><p>Sir Haliban, the Champion Paladin of the King, was a proud man of great skills. He was a baron by title and with decent land that kept him well fed, armed and horsed. He was also a dedicated member of the Imperial Cult, and the King had often loaned his champion to the King's Inquisition to take down the heretics and rebels. This time, he was going fight a real daemon hound, not some hocus pocus fakes that local tricksters made up or the very minor daemon so weak that could be killed by a few shots of lasgun of the Imperial Guards and good hacking with the sword.<p>

He and the soldiers on loan from the King's Inquisition were almost at their destination. They had traveled a week and half, including three days on the river boat, to get to the remote village that was about to get wiped out in an Ork invasion. However, the King's Inquisition did not want a prize kill to be left at the hands of the barbaric Orks. They wanted this girl to be crucified and her head decorating walls of the Inquisition to show off their piety.

They finally reached the very flat lands of the south. The vast plain to the south of the Kingdom was a fertile land, but it lacked good water source. Only in the summer that the melted ice from the mountains would flow down and made the land farmable, but at the moment, there was no one to farm the land. The two fiefdoms had collapsed ten years ago and the people were killed by the Orks in the atrocious invasion. Since then, no one would settle in these lands in fear of an Ork attack.

Haliban and his men marched in a single file, and were full of ideas of pillaging and raping and glorious murder of the witch-girl and her daemon hound. However, things did not go as planned. With a sudden popping sound, a half dozen pikemen at the rear of the column were covered in bright green liquid and they screamed as they melted into a pool of blood and acid.

Haliban immediately stopped his horse and turned around. Then another pop, and another five men, swordsmen this time, were bathed in green acid from the ground. The knight's eyes flashed in anger.

"To arms! Enemy is here! Scatter formation!"

The men were panicked but Haliban's voice was loud enough to jolt them back into action. They quickly spread out, with each man at arm's length from another. Only the knights on foot were still clustered together, but not because they were slow. When Haliban shouted his order, something popped in the air right above them.

The tiny spores rained down on the knights, and suddenly large purple and green fungus grew on them, with the roots digging into the flesh and armor. The knights screamed as they tried get them off but for the few seconds the impossibly fast-growing fungus ate their way into the arms and heads of the knights. One of the knights had the fungus grow in his right eye, and the fungus had chewed its way into the brain, and killed him.

Before the knights could respond, a creature exploded out of the ground in front of them. It was a large creature, as big as a foal but bloated with green sacs of liquid. They instantly recognized the danger, but their reaction was too slow for the creature that rolled itself toward the knights. One of the knight blocked its path with his shield and another knight struck the creature with a sword, but it was to no avail.

The creature was too fast and too strong, and the knight who blocked its path was thrown aside, and when the creature was in the middle of the knights, it exploded. The green acid showered most of the 19 remaining knights. Six of them died instantly as their armor and flesh instantly dissolved and seven followed suit as the acid ate their ways into the various gaps in the armor then into the body.

With a single explosion of acid, 13 knights died. The men panicked, and as men often do, they ran in a similar direction, unwittingly clustering together. Haliban tried to stop them, and sent his knights on horsebacks against the deserters, but it was unnecessary. Two explosions later, the men returned, their number now 21 men fewer. Such attacks were unheard of, and Haliban did not know what was going on.

Suddenly, a large ugly creature with purple belly appeared not too far from them, and it spit out something into the air. The Fungal Growth was once again cast upon the men, and nine swordsmen died, and ten had their weapons and armor ruined. Before the archers could fire at the creature, it burrowed into the ground and disappeared.

Another pop and 17 archers died as they aimed for the Infester. Another pop and two knights on horses died, and three horse also died, throwing their masters to the ground. Another Fungal Growth killed 18 pikemen. Two more Fungal Growth were applied to the men, and they died, leaving a sum of 28 men dead in those few seconds. Haliban could only watch in shock and horror as his men were slaughtered.

Then something new happened. From five different points in the ground, pods shot out. The pods landed on the ground and they pulsed with heartbeat. Haliban instantly recognized the danger.

"Men, attack those sacs! Now!"

The men immediately took to it, and they stabbed and cut the pods and shot arrows at it. Two of the pods died and screamed as it collapsed. Inside were corpses of what looked similar to a very large human. However, they were too slow and too late in attacking the pods.

The pods burst open and large man-creatures appeared. Almost two meters in height, they had left arm with three large claws, with two tentacle-like things in the back with equally terrifying claws. On their right arm, they had strange tube that beat with heartbeat. Their body was covered in thick carapace and their marginally human face with tentacles squirming around them.

The creatures raised their tubes and fired. With hissing noise, sharp ammunitions struck the humans. Haliban stopped several of the attacks with his steel shield. He looked at the ammunition of the enemy. They were bones. As thick and as long as an adult male's forefinger, the bones are as sharp as a bradawl and dripping with acid. A dozen men had quickly fallen to this attack.

Haliban was not about let an enemy to kill his army when he could finally see them. He charged at one, blocking the bones with his shield and thrusting his sword. The sword was sharp and it cut right through the throat of the creature. Unfortunately, the Infested 'Terran' didn't really use throat. It gurgled for a moment, then it grabbed Haliban's arm with its left hand. Then fired its bio-rifle into Haliban's chest.

As Haliban fell to the ground, the world around him seemed to slow down. The acid was poison to humans, and he felt burning pain all around his chest. Each breath was so painful. As he fell, he saw more pods opening and his men slaughtered. More explosive creature came up from the ground and exploded upon the groups of Haliban's men who banded together to fight against the Infested Terran.

Then Haliban saw no more.

* * *

><p>Without Terran Marines to infest, the Infesters had spawned a new type of creature. It was actually impressive how the Infesters automatically came up with such innovation when they were without the bits of Terran Marine armor and weapon floating inside their belly. The Infesters would regularly swallow such pieces as well as consuming human DNA to form the Infested Terran Marines, or actually carry a few dormant Infested Marines, but this was something new. I was very impressed.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

I own nothing that is not original...

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><p>Thanks for all the reviews!<p>

Well, I am trying a new style to help with the 'wall of texts' issue in this story. However, as more 'characters' appear, the dialogue would lessen the burden on the eyes.

Thanks for everyone who liked it!

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><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

Once the human attackers were done, my attention shifted to the matter of the Orks and their massive attack. It was not like the minor attack of the humans who were so easy to deal with because of their physical weakness and their tendency to panic if things went bad. The Orks, on the other hand, would not break as easily as humans did. Although killing their Warboss may work but that could easily cause further problems.

My logic was that if I began with the assassination of the Warboss, there always was the chance of the Orks fleeing back to their land. I didn't want that to happen. If the fleeing Orks alert other Ork clans, then I would not be able to handle massive Waaagh! in time.

~I need a tactic to wipe them out in a single strike. Few stragglers can be chased down, but I cannot have several hundred Orks scattering all the way back to their territory. Considering the possibility of losing a large portion of my Zergling forces, chasing them down would be ill-advised. I cannot afford to chase down an entire army fleeing from the theatre of war...~

I did have a couple of advantages however. Firstly, the biggest advantage I had was that the Orks had never encountered the Zerg before. They had no idea how to fight us but I knew quite a lot about them. This was the advantage most decisive to our favor.

Another advantage was that I had the element of surprise. The Orks were oblivious to any fighting before they got to the human realm. On the other hand, I was fully aware of their every movement thanks to the Overseer keeping its many eyes on them.

~Hmm... and I would be arrive at the theatre of war at least a couple of days earlier. This is good.~

The chosen battlefield was in direct path of the Ork army and it was also the location a human castle destroyed a decade ago in the previous Ork invasion.

~Lucky that I have these upgrades ready.~

In fact, I had both of Overlord upgrades completed. It was ready just in time for me to ferry new Infesters to the battlefield. The Zerglings with their speed upgrade were sent by themselves, but Infesters were expensive slow units that needed to be handled with care.

Another upgrade to be complete just in time was the Gorgeling. This variant of Baneling would have special acid that would convert the enemy into useable resources. This fast completion of research was surprising as it was the first of the four evolution projects to be finished. This expedient upgrade was possible thanks to the Nutrient Pit. By actually making the Nutrient Pit to ooze powerful acid that allowed the dissolving of the materials into useful goo of nutrient, I had unwittingly created the acid that could easily be used in Gorgelings.

The upgrade required some modification of the acid but the result was still the same. The acid would disassemble the molecules of the enemy and turn them into easily digestible goo. It was a very minor step from the Nutrient Pit, but I was proud of my unexpected scientific breakthrough. Since this was no computer game, there were some necessary adjustments made to ensure successful recovery of the resources garnered by the Gorgeling acid. The acid would not only melt and dissolve an enemy, but it would then coagulate into little blobs that can be easily handled by the Drones. If the kills were made on top on a Creep field connected to the Hive Cluster, then Drones would not be needed but in a battle so far from my base, I would need to deploy Drones afterward.

~Besides, the fourteen hundred or so of big burly Orks would make a nice feast for my Swarm. I shouldn't forget to prep the Drones to harvest them.~

I kept on sending newborn Zerglings to the battlefield to replace the number that were turning into Banelings and Gorelings. I already had almost a hundred Zerglings morphing into Gorgelings and Banelings. One of the things I improved upon was on the issue of permanent mutations of the species. I didn't want all of Banelings to be Gorgelings, and I didn't want all of my Zerglings to be Raptors. So I had built new Spawning Pools and Baneling Nests to store the mutations. The Gorgeling Nest looked purple compared to the green color of the Baneling Nest.

~Let's see... Hydralisks should do fine from the high grounds provided by the ruins of the castle and... Roaches should flank the Orks from the other side. That should sandwich the Orks between Roaches and the rubble.~

I reviewed the battlefield as seen by the Overlords and Overseers.

~That leaves the issue of the Warboss... again. Killing him too early or too easily with mass Banelings would not be wise, but letting the Warboss alive too long is also a burden. Then... there is that damned Squiggoth.~

I wished that I had another two or three Ultralisks, but I could not muster them in time. If I wanted to be most effective in protecting the village from the Orks, I needed to strike at the specific time, and that had meant fewer Zerg units of higher echelon.

~The Squiggoth is at the rear of their army, and if they maintain the formation... then I should... Ah, yes... Two Ultralisks hiding on either side of the Squiggoth and the last Ultralisk should be in front fighting the Warboss.~

The plan began to solidify in my mind as I used memories of James to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of my Swarm and of the Ork horde.

~The legs of the Squiggoth should be disabled... Roaches? No... Banelings and Gorgelings... but I don't really have that many and too few Infesters. I guess I've got to make the most of Mutalisks and Corruptors.~

I currently had four Corruptors, including the 'old one'. I was fully hoping to use their Corruption against the Warboss and the Squiggoth.

~I really got to make that Corruption ability an area-effect. I just hope that the Fungal Growth would hold down the Orks long enough.~

In truth, I was sorely disappointed in James. Although James was a major part of my identity and the main proponent of me recognizing myself as a male human/Zerg Overmind, but for a nerd with so much information at his disposal, he was really lazy at implementing his innovation. I guess he thought that minor innovations were enough to give him advantages against the Terrans and Protoss. My problem was that, despite my denial, I was in Warhammer 40K universe, which only features wars of massive scale against enemies of incalculable destructive potential. Although I was tempted to take time to consider all possible innovations I can make, dealing with the Orks was the priority.

* * *

><p>Deep within the artificial forest of the village of Polton, a group of men gathered together. These were not the villagers nor were they the soldiers defeated by the Banelings and the Infesters. Among them, a dozen men wore same dark green attire with steel armor painted with same blotchy dark green color. Each of them held a Lasgun and a power pack on the back, a rare weapon on this isolated planet. These were the King's Imperial Guards.<p>

Their leader was a grim looking captain with several medals on his chest. The captain was a baron somewhere north, and rest of the Imperial Guards were all sons of noblemen. This was because the original Imperial Guards who landed on this planet in their escape pods ruled over the primitive locals and became the new aristocracy. Many could not endure the tests of time, but the King, the descendent of the ship's captain, and the Dukes, the descendents of the high ranking officers, maintained a number of noble houses to man the Imperial Guards.

Usually the second sons became the Imperial Guards and would get an empty title and quite a bit of pension when they retire, and such has kept the loyalties of the Imperial Guards in check. It was also the fact that the Imperial Guards were rarely sent to war. After all, they were the King's Imperial Guards and they were the King's true military might. Only the King had armored vehicles and his Imperial Guards were most numerous and well-armed, which subdued the nobles from taking over.

The dozen Imperial Guards were not alone however. They were met by another dozen men, all dressed in black with white trimmings. The second group was the Knights of the Imperial Cult. Though they weren't nearly as well armed as the King's Imperial Guards, they all had a Laspistol each and carried a sword. The Imperial Cultists were also wearing steel armor under the clothing. These men were here to battle, and they were ready to kill.

As the sky darkened with the sun setting beyond the horizon, the group whispered to each other. The two captains met and shook hands. The Imperial Guard spoke first.

"Well met, Sir Ardigan. Your reputation proceed you."

Sir Ardigan, of the Imperial Cult, was a notorious warrior with infamy for his brutality against the 'heretics'. He and his men supported many Inquisitors and the results almost always bloody.

"It is good to meet you too, Captain Barridon. I also have heard of your fame. However, I think this is too low key for you."

Captain Barridon was also a figure of certain repute. Being an excellent shooter, he was the instructor at the Imperial Guard Academy, and many seasoned Imperial Guards learned to shoot under him. However, he was also known for his cold-hearted slaughters of King's enemies. By his experience and achievements, he should be a general by right, but the massacre of Count Olphran's castle, the slaughter at the Vedren Rebellion and other atrocities had kept demoting him.

Barridon shook his head.

"I am retiring soon, Sir Knight. This would be my final work before returning to my teaching position for few more months and then I shall return to my fief and send my sons in my stead."

"Well, I do hope that this exercise would give you a closure, captain."

A voice cut their conversation short.

"I believe that that is enough small talk, gentlemen."

Suddenly, a man in black armor, cloak and hat appeared from nowhere. He carried a large golden 'I' on his chest as a necklace and four smaller ones around his limbs. On his belt was a Laspistol and a power sword, a truly rare item on this world. Ardigan bowed his head.

"Inquisitor Pardia. I didn't know you were here already."

The Inqusitor's eyes gleamed with murderous glare that unnerved hardened men like Ardigan and Barridon.

"I was here before you have arrived, Sir Knight. I have been observing the villagers."

He showed his monocular, also a rare item that few could afford. Barridon was impressed.

"A 'Seeing Glass Tube'? Isn't that expensive even for an Inquisitor of your level?"

Pardia sneered.

"The Inquisition is fully supported by both the King and the Cult. We have access to things you cannot even imagine."

"Of course."

Ardigan nodded too and then looked at the direction of the village.

"So, what have you found out, Inquisitor?"

"It truly is a genuine daemon hound. It looks nothing like any animal on this world, and it is built for murder. The witch-girl seems 'innocent' but it was so obvious that she was actually the puppet of the daemon."

Barridon licked his lips in anticipation.

"Oh, I cannot wait to kill such game."

The Inquisitor sneered again.

"It is not a 'game' that can so easily be hunted, Captain. A daemon hound, by all records of the Imperium that we have access to, is a powerful thing. However, I believe that this 'Flesh Hound of the Blood God' is only a young one that only just arrived in this world."

Ardigan narrowed his eyes.

"Do you mean to tell me that this creature can pose threat to us?"

Pardia shook his head.

"No... we are too many and too well-armed. However, I am worried about the source of this daemon hound. You two can kill it if you wish, but only after I found the heretic who has first summoned it."

Ardigan smiled in anticipation for blood and battle.

"Kill the girl then?"

Pardia narrowed his eyes and tapped his monocular.

"No... there was something about the girl. The hound was intent on protecting her. Hunt the girl, but do not kill unless you absolutely have to. That will drive the girl to the true master of the daemon hound."

Barridon agreed.

"Yes, Inquisitor Pardia. As the King wills."

Ardigan also spoke aloud his agreement.

"In the name of the Emperor."

The Inquisitor nodded.

"We move out when the girl and the hound goes out to the field to play. Then we shall 'subdue' the village first, and then chase her down. We cannot take the chance of the daemon-enthralled villagers coming to her aid if we attack her first."

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><p>~What is this? A warning?~<p>

I could not shake this feeling of strangeness and foreboding sense of danger that began a few hours earlier. It emanated from the Khydarin crystal shards that I planted near the first Nutrient Pit. They had grown a lot since the planting, and I could harvest some of them and planted at other Nutrient Pits. The long exposure to the Khydarin crystal's energy had left me fulfilled. It appeared that I could consume psionic energy like food. I felt it strengthening my control over my Swarm.

The primary conduit of the psionic energy was still the Protoss Pylon on top my Hive. It had become the focal point of my mind, and I had such powerful control over my minions through that. It also helped the minions around the Hive as well. The 'old' Queen who came with me from the Starcraft universe had become a more powerful creature with at least double the maximum energy and greater health. In fact, she was on the verge of gaining an independent individual mind. Of course, I would still maintain absolute control, but she was becoming more intelligent than any other Queens since hatched.

The effects were not only limited to the Queen. All of the 'old' units who were near the Pylon and the Khydarin crystals became stronger and faster, albeit at very slow pace. The 'old' Ultralisk, who had been working around the Primary Hive Cluster, had gained a thick film of extra carapace and its Kaiser blades slightly glowed blue with psionic vibration, and could swing them faster and in varied angles. The Roaches, originally pouring acid into the Nutrient Pit, had become more powerful too. Their attack range and attack speed increased as well as their normal regeneration factor.

The Hydralisks and the Zerglings had shown the most dramatic changes. Once I felt the effect of the psionic power, I had the 'old' units stay near the Pylon and the shards, except for Toby, and they began to impact on them. The Hydralisks became slight larger and they gained more tentacles on their tail, making them faster. They also grew several scores of horns on their body. As sharp as razorblades, these horns would be great in close combat. In fact, they made the Hydralisks a lot more nightmarish.

The Zerglings became larger as well. However, their size wasn't the primary change. Their attack claws got longer and serrated, and they grew tiny glands at the roots of their claws that slowly excreted acid that did not harm the Zergling itself. Their brain got slightly bigger and they could now move sideways in certain situations. Some of they also exhibited the ability to howl loudly, and the piercing noise had such sonic vibrations that the Drones, normally so focused on their tasks, paused work seemed stunned for a few seconds.

These were promising effects of the Khydarin crystal, and I did include few of these upgraded units to the battle against the Ork army, including the Ultralisk, which I decided to give the name of the Ultralisk hero from Starcraft 1. The new Torrasque was going to take on the Warboss, and it burrowed where I designated it. Unfortunately, I began to notice that the new upgrades gained from the psionic energy of the Khydarin crystal began to fade slowly. In a week, the Torrasque would return to being normal Ultralisk, but with slightly greater armor. The extra carapace would remain but it would eventually rot away without the connective tissues.

However, I still could use the Torrasque at the moment, so that was the important thing. The special Roaches were positioned between Torrasque and the Infesters to protect the Infesters, and I had rest of my army burrowed into the ground.

I was ready for war.

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><p>"We's gonna hava a propa Waaagh!"<p>

The Warboss boasted to his Nobz/Brutes. They could have been called Brutes, but the Warboss managed to get them some sluggas, so they could be called Nobz, and these Nobz were itching for a good Waaagh!

"Yes, boss! Yu's gonna getus a good Waaagh!"

The Nob said 'Waaagh!' a little too loud and the Boyz shouted Waaagh! together. The Warboss didn't like that a mere Nob instigated such arousal of the crowd. He swung his large chain axe.

"Nobody says 'Waaagh!' unless I says so!"

Vroooom!~

The chain axe chewed its way into the Nob's chest and the Nob, being an Ork and unwilling to die without fighting, fired his slugga at the Warboss. However, the Warboss had some steel armor and he easily dodged the shot. Now angry, the Warboss swung the axe again and lopped off the Nob's gun arm. Stomping on the fallen arm, he roared.

"WAAAGH!"

With a big overhead swing, the Warboss split the Nob's head in two and stomped on his body.

"SEE! I da big bad WAAAGH BOSS! Nobody outdoes me!"

Once again dominating the mind and fear of his Waaagh! under his control, the Warboss led his Orks northward again. They continued to march and despite the continuous infighting, the Warboss managed to keep the self-inflicted casualty down to a minimum.

Eventually, they arrived at a hill that overlooked the small town that used to be the main town of the destroyed fiefdom. The town and the castle inside the town were absolutely demolished and only piles upon piles of rubble remained there. To an Ork, that was a magnificent sight. It was the sign of a good and proper Waaagh! that happened before.

"Boyz, let's go!"


	7. Chapter 7

I own nothing that is not original...

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><p>Thanks for all the reviews!<p>

With this chapter, I may slow down the Swarm of War and focus on Stargate: Galactic Imperium once again.  
>Thanks y'all!<p>

Damn it... this Doc Manager is crap...

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><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

The Warboss and the Orks found something as he led his Waaagh! and he stopped to take a look. It was a lone creature. It was about 3m tall and its eyes glowing red. It had elongated head and covered in hard leather-like carapace. It was like a snake, except for its two arms, each ending with three razor-sharp claws. It stared at the Orks, it opened its outer jaw and the sharp jagged teeth parted to reveal the inner mouth, also filled with teeth.

The Warboss paused. He was amused and interested. He had never seen a creature like this. It looked aggressive and dangerous, and dangerous was good for an Ork. The Warboss really liked the look of this creature. Its arms were so deadly-looking and its eyes so filled with hunter's gaze. The Warboss roared. Of course, he needed to test this creature first.

"You! Go kill that thingy!"

An Ork Boy, one of the Slugga Boyz in line for an upgrade to a Nob in several battles, nodded at the command of the Warboss.

"Yes boss!"

The Boy ran at the Hydralisk with his Slugga raised and his crude steel sword held high. The rest of the Ork forces watched in intrigue at the Boy fighting a vicious looking creature. The Hydralisk was expecting an attack so it raised its body for the combat and howled. The Boy shouted Waaagh! and the Hydralisk roared in its animalistic scream.

The Ork Boy fired his Slugga at the general direction of the Hydralisk. The accuracy of an Ork and the range of a Slugga was generally expected by the Hydralisk however, and it did not flinch at the noise like most 'normal' animals would do. Instead, it reared his head, and its carapace flaps opened in places to reveal red flesh with tiny spikes protruding from it.

Then with a single motion, the Hydralisk fired its powerful spines at the charging Ork Boy. With the sharp whistling sound, the spines buried themselves deep into the chest of the Ork Boy, who fell backward at the impact. The Hydralisk roared once more in triumph. This was one of the 'old' Hydralisks with the psionic upgrade, and its attack was more powerful than normal Hydralisk's attack.

The Hydralisk did not relax from that victory. It knew, both from its animalistic instinct and from the knowledge about the Orks from the Overmind, that an Ork is a resilient creature. Indeed, the Ork Boy groaned and stood back up, though his footsteps wobbled a little. The Ork shook his head, and then attempted to pull out the spines, only to scream in pain as the spine's serrated thorns took out chunks of his flesh.

"Ouch, dat hurts... I'm gonna... I'm gonna kill you!"

Bleeding from the three places he pulled out the spines, the Ork Boy instinctively charged at the Hydralisk, knowing that he was losing blood by the second and all he could think about was to hit the creature with his sword. The Slugga fired again and almost all of its shots missed except for two shots that hit the Hydralisk's head, only to bounce off with almost-metallic sparks.

The Ork Boy stumbled as the powerful poison began to flood his system despite the tough Ork physiology. Normally, the Terran Marine's power armor or the Protoss plasma shield would block most of the poison covering the surface of the spines. Normally, there would not be enough poison to affect an Ork so much. However, these spines were fired by a fully upgraded Hydralisk affected by the Khaydarin crystals. The sheer volume of poison was enough to turn a human into a mush.

The poison was a potent chemical based in acid, and the acid was designed so that it would flow through the blood vessels and affect the cells directly. The chemical would then dissolve the cell walls. Without the protective membrane to contain itself, cells would collapse or attacked by the immune system, which comes to recognize the affected cells as hostiles. Though it was the strange physiology of the Ork that had saved the Boy from instantly dying, it did affect him.

"Wot? Wot's dis? Why can't I... uhh... move me arms?"

The Hydralisk reared its body once more and with a triumphant screech, it fired again. The Ork fell backward and lay there for a moment before attempting to stand up again. If he was fighting a normal Hydralisk, the Ork Boy would easily have shrugged off the attacks and closed in on the Zerg creature. If only that was the case. The uber Hydralisk fired once more, much faster in firing rate than normal one.

The third time was the charm as one of the spines punched through the Ork Boy's right eye and injected its poison directly into the Ork's brain. The nerve cells in the Ork brain began to quickly dissolve into goo and within moments the Ork had lost half of its brain. The Ork fell. The Ork died.

That, however, satisfied the Warboss. He didn't care about the Ork Boy he had just sent to his death, but the Warboss was satisfied that this lone creature was something worthy to be fought. Yet, the Warboss was a coward. He has always been a coward at heart. His rule over his clan was done only through the brutal murders and executions of any Nobz who dared to show off. Then, he would hide behind his Nobz if any real fighting was to be done. He would send his Nobz to die and weaken the enemy before entering the fray.

This method was again used against the Hydralisk. The Ork Boy was sent first to test the creature as well as checking for any traps. Of course, there was no place where more enemies could hide, maybe except for the distant rubbles of a human town. Now that he was satisfied that there was no trap, the Warboss was willing to go down and kill the creature. Of course, he would let his Nobz in first so as to weaken the creature just in case its puny body contained powers he could not deal with.

"Dat thingy killed one of my Boyz! It's time to WAAAGH!"

At his command, the Nobz ran down the hill, their massive bodies trampling down upon the grass. They were immediately followed by the Warboss himself with the rest of the Slugga Boyz and Feral Boyz behind him. The rear was brought up by the Gretchins, and the Squiggoth was still on top of the next hill, and slowly moving forward.

"WAAAGH!"

The Orks roared as they charged. The Hydralisk did as it was commanded. It immediately turned around and ran.

The Hydralisk was quite fast. Though the Orks slowly gained on it, it moved its body to move as fast as it could. It eventually reached a decent distance from the town, and it continued on, running parallel to the long wall that faced south south west.

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><p>The town was not a big one, since it was constructed mostly to protect the baron rather than his people. The town walls were not that high, barely reaching 3m and made mostly of packed earth with a bit of brick covers. It was generally an elongated rectangular in shape with the longer sides facing south south west and north north east respectively. Its rectangular shape becomes a pentagon for the tiny slice of north-facing wall which is actually the 2 storey keep overlooking the tiny town.<p>

The long wall, which the Hydralisk was running parallel to, was no more than 250m in length, and yet this tiny town was expensive for the baron and his family, at least when he was alive. The land down south was so hostile because of the roaming Orks and bandits that the fiefdom was one of the poorest in the entire kingdom, perhaps save for the other destroyed fiefdom, which bordered a series of barren mountains and produced even less of anything than this one.

The baron's great great grandfather was a count, and he had once owned six fiefdoms, including this one, the other destroyed one, and four adjoining territories to the north. He was unfortunately involved in a minor rebellion, and was made a baron at his deathbed and most of his land was confiscated and given to those who sided with the King. The baron's grandfather used what was left of his familial fortune to commission this wall around the village that formed around his rudimentary keep made of wood.

Even though it was quite unimpressive and was small to most of the other towns as they were defined, the cost was exorbitant and the baron's grandfather left his son a significant debt. The baron's father did his best to pay off most of the debt, which involved much sacrifice in almost all aspects of life. The baron was raised in a household no more wealthy than any of the commoners on his land. Yet, even the baron had some debts to repay.

This was a critical error for the kingdom to let the fiefdom at the southern edge of its territory to be abandoned so. They recognized the Ork threat but not as much as they should have. They thought that there were only few Ork clans that any moderately sized army could defeat. They did not know of the tens of thousands of Orks infesting the forests and the barrens to the south. Had they realized the danger of the Ork threat, they may have helped the baron to set up some defenses or early warning systems.

There were no real defenses.

The fiefdom had fallen swiftly.

The baron had only a dozen armed men, most of those being volunteers against the local bandits. Within an hour, the town's walls crumbled under the sheer weight of the Orks climbing over them, and the townspeople were so easily slaughtered that the Orks fought amongst themselves to ward off boredom.

Who knew that the wall, now without most of its masonry gone, would serve as an excellent platform for the Zerg. Without the thin stone plates for the wall, the compacted earth with the weeds growing on was perfect hiding spots for the Hydralisks. They would burrow into the walls themselves, or hide under light rubble. Fifty Hydralisks and twenty five Roaches spread themselves across most of the 250m-long wall.

The Zerg had made an excellent ambush position with the help of the Drones. The Drones had harvested timber from nearest forest and tumbled them down to the battlefield. Massive logs formed a wall that loosely resembled a landslide. The wall of logs would hopefully funnel the Orks into a narrow corridor of about 400m width and the distance of 200m. The 400m x 200m corridor between the two walls was going to be the death field of Orks.

The morning sun was still young, and the leaves were yet moist from the morning dew. However, none of that calm beauty could stop the quake. The stomping footsteps of nearly eight hundred Orks and five hundred Gretchins were thunderous. The ground shook as they rushed down from the wide low hill toward the lone titillating creature that aroused the aggression of the Orks.

"Da Waaagh!"

"We gonna kill ya!"

"WAAAGH!"

Orks shouted various war-cries but the Zerg were not intimidated. The Ork army was about to face an enemy that they have never faced before.

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><p>The beginning happened with the uber Hydralisk turning around at the end of the kill-corridor. Screeching in defiance, the Hydralisk let loose its spines. The Nobz were stronger and tougher, and some of them even used the large hammer or axe to block the spines. Of course, the spines were shot at such velocity that it could penetrate neo-steel, and simple iron hammer or primitive steel axe had the spines stuck in them.<p>

Suddenly, right behind the Hydralisk, five large bloated creatures exploded out from the ground. The Infesters made nasty clicking sounds then sprayed the Fungal Growth at the incoming Orks. Five groups of Orks were suddenly sprayed with strange fungus spores. An Orks was a moving fungus, and now they were sprayed with a different fungus, and this fungus, though not like an Ork spore, was equally virulent and even more vindictive. Within moments of landing on the skin of the Ork, the Zerg fungal spores exploded into action and its roots dug into the Ork flesh with their tiny roots expertly drilling in between the cells. Then the roots expanded and grew. The roots grew deep and wide, and any Orks trying to pull them out often found their own flesh torn out with the fungus.

The Warboss and the Nobz still charged even though about half the Nobz and half the Slugga Boyz were sprayed and were stuck to the ground. Then like magic, the Infesters and the Hydralisk dug into the ground and disappeared. They were immediately replaced by three uber Roaches. They squeezed out their powerful acid with such force that the three Nobz in the front that were hit with the acid were knocked back. They screamed as they got back up. Their face and any part hit with the Roach acid steamed as the skin and flesh were dissolved into gas and liquid. The Nobz had thick leather for skin, and despite one of them losing both eyes, the others roared in defiance as the Roaches changed targets with each shot.

The Roaches were only able to get two more shots each when they were finally within the range of the Ork guns. The large Sluggas of the Nobz fired at the Roaches, and the Roaches were peppered with bits of metal. The Orks on this world were mostly feral and their capability to make guns and ammunition was severely limited. Only the largest of the clans had the ability to make any guns, and their ammunition was no better than the primitive guns of early human civilization. Though better than a musket, they could not really penetrate the thick and powerful carapace of the Roaches, since Roaches were particularly known for their thick armor. Yet, the Roaches were hit with so many bullets that even their tough constitution could not help stop them from shying their faces away from the incoming bullets. After all, a bullet in the eyes was deadly almost all species.

The Roaches turning their heads was a sign of victory to the Orks, and they charged. It was a fatal mistake. With absolutely synchronized motions, hundreds of Zerg units appeared all around the Orks. Unwittingly, the Ork spear head was now well contained in the death trap. The rear sections continued forward, oblivious to what was happening, and they were now crowded together and packed into groups. The Boyz, both Slugga Boyz and the Feral Boyz as well as the spear-wielding Huntas were packed together behind the Nobz, and they were the first of the major casualties. From beneath their feet, green and purple explosions literally showered them with powerful acid.

Orks were so tightly packed together that Banelings and Gorgelings were able to deal maximum damage to the maximum number. Thirty four explosions dotted that small area of death trap. The green and purple acid sprayed themselves across the skins and flesh of the Ork, and their crude weapons. The Zerg did not expect their acid to kill entire groups of Orks, as Banelings and Gorgelings were distant from each other in that attack. However, the point of the attack was to disable the Orks. Unlike in the computer game, a unit does not simply fight relentlessly when he is injured. A Terran Marine would shoot at the Zergling even though his health would be red, but in truth, a Terran Marine whose health is on red would already be crippled and barely able to move.

Orks were no different from this. Not only did they not have armors, their weapons were crude. Their simple steel swords and iron axes were quickly turned into gnarled pieces of metal that could hardly called a weapon, and the Orks were blinded by the acid that went into their eyes and burned their skins. Those right on top of the explosions were entirely consumed by that spray, and the Ork physiology had allowed them continued survival for a while. Dripping with acid, those Orks screamed in pain that they had not felt before, and they collapsed to the ground as the acid burrowed into their blood vessels and dissolved muscles, organs and bones. Each explosion sprayed acid over Orks in numbers between 10~15, resulting in overall impact of over 300 Ork Boyz disabled and nearly 60 Orks dead.

The simultaneous attack did not end there. To their left, 120 Roaches appeared from the ground and fired their own acid into the crowds of Orks. Unlike in the game, any acid that fell away from the main stream got on other Orks. Yet, like their biological design based in a dimension not as dangerous as the Warhammer 40K, the Roaches continued to fire their acid streams in single volleys. The Roaches fired their acid at one target each, and to the nearest Ork. The attacked Orks were pushed back at the sheer pressure of the liquid acid and their skins began to bubble and melt away. The second volley added more acid, taking away outermost muscle tissues.

At that same moment, 50 Hydralisks and 20 Roaches appeared from the Orks right flank above the large earth mounds that used to be the castle wall. From their high ground, the Hydralisks relentlessly fired their spines at the Orks. Aim wasn't really necessary as there were simply too many Orks packed into tiny formation. The Hydralisks did aim for heads though. Their Overmind was very meticulous in the manner of attacks since the uber Hydralisk tested out the power of the spine against an Ork. Supported by the twenty Roaches, the Hydralisks began to pick off tougher looking Orks, directing their powerful spines at the Ork heads.

In the front, the Warboss had sent his Nobz right in front of him and surrounded himself with plenty of Slugga Boyz. Yet, even the front had its own surprise. As the Warboss turned around to see the source of the screams from behind him, he saw the Roaches and Hydralisks. He roared in anger as he realized that fell into a trap. Yet, he was confident. He only needed to crush those few enemies in front of him and get out of this death trap. His confidence quickly abated when he heard sounds of explosion and screams from the front. His Nobz were almost wiped out.

The 400m corridor itself was plenty wide, but the Nobz banded together and charged at the three uber Roaches. At the exact time that the Warboss turned around, 30 Banelings and Gorgelings shot out from the ground and rolled toward the Nobz before the big Orks could think. The very front line of Nobz were showered with acid, and being only 75 in total number at the start, there were only 29 Nobz that met the 30 Banelings. Banelings exploded, and the Nobz shared the acid. Like all acid, it took time to eat its way through any object and they would cancel out the object and would eventually stop when acid ran dry. This attack had not only showered the Nobz, but bathed them in acid, and let them stand in a pool of acid.

To make the matter worse, the second line of Nobz, numbering 33, were suddenly faced with explosions from right beneath their feet. Like their brother Nobz, they were attacked by the suicidal explosions of nearly 30 Banelings and Gorgelings. The two lines of Nobz, totaling 62 were showered, bathed, swam and died in acid. Before the Warboss could even roar the scream of surprise and frustration, five hundred Zerglings shot out from the ground all over the death trap and immediately attacked the nearest Orks. The real battle had just begun**.**

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

I own nothing that is not original...

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><p>Thanks for all the reviews!<p>

I give you one more chapter because I didn't feel like writing anything else but this... but I will get right back on my other stories... (SG:GI and two Korean stories... but you are not interested in Korean stories... lol)

Damn it... the Doc Manager is really crap...

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><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

I would have chuckled if I had a mouth. It appeared that the Orks had been taken totally by surprise and they were being slaughtered so easily. I was sure that my Zerglings would tear apart the poorly armed and armored Orks despite the size difference between the Orks and my Zerglings. Of course, I had compared the Gretchins to those killed by Tobya few months ago. That was a mistake and I soon realized it.

Once the Zerglings appeared from the ground and the Orks finally had opponents to fight, their panicked manner changed and they were suddenly more warlike. I could see the battle from the Overseer and I began to see the Orks pounding on my Zerglings despite the terribly primitive weapons they were using. I had expected my Zerglings' carapace to easily protect their small bodies against the crude iron or stone weapons. The Ork Huntas and their spears should not cause any greater damage than the steel knife held by a Gretchin.

Perhaps this was the negative aspect of the humanity that I decided to embrace. My arrogance reared its ugly head and let me just watch the battle progress rather than intervene and micromanage my Zerglings. My arrogance had assumed that the Zerglings would tie down the Orks long enough for the Hydralisks and Roaches to finish them off. This was a critical mistake.

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><p>A Zergling jumped at an Ork with its attack claws. The two long arms with sharp claws came down on the Ork. The Ork did not look afraid. Perhaps it was incapable to being afraid of the Zergling in such one on one situation. After all, the Zergling was small and the Ork Boy was big. The Ork turned to evade the attack a little late and the left claw cut a deep gash on the Ork's left shoulder. The greenskin roared and jammed its crude iron knife, only about 30cm in length, into the side of the Zergling.<p>

The carapace held and the knife broke. However, the kinetic force of the Ork's attack was so powerful that the Zergling was thrown to the ground. Its side carapace had cracks where the Ork had hit with the knife. The Zergling groaned in pain and growled as it attempted to stand again. However, the impact had shaken the Zergling's organs and the muscles continued to spasm, and the Ork did not give it a chance to get back on feet. With its own growl, the Ork jumped on the Zergling.

With one knee pressing the Zergling's cracked side and the other at the Zergling's right front foot, the Ork began to pound on the Zergling with its fists. It didn't really care if it was hitting the Zergling's head, so the fist kept hitting the Zergling's left front shoulder, and the spiked carapace had made a bloody mess of the Ork's fists. Yet, the punches were strong and they were strong enough to cause cracks in the carapace and within a couple of its, the Zergling screamed in pain as the shards of its biological armor were punched into its shoulder.

As the Ork shouted in triumph, the Zergling fought back. It twisted its body and lashed out with its attack claws on its back. The Ork had stumbled when the Zergling forcefully twisted its body and allowed the attack claws to gouge a large chunk of flesh from its chest. Two fountains of blood shot out but the Ork was resilient. As the attack claw retracted to get the coil for the next attack, the Ork had grabbed one of the claws by the roots and pulled. With a loud crack, the attack claw half came out, its thick ligaments barely holding at the sudden jerking motion.

The Zergling thrashed about in order to get the Ork off of it, but it failed and the Ork slammed down at the Zergling's head with its elbow, and put his entire upper bodyweight on that. With a sickening crunch, the Zergling's head burst apart under the sheer impact and weight of an Ork Boy. Standing up from the bloody mess, the Ork Boy roared in pleasure of battle, only to face its own demise moments later.

Half dozen spines tore through the Ork's back, and though only one got stuck deep, the others cut through the muscles and ligaments while releasing paralyzing toxins. Before the Ork could grasp what was happening, another Zergling came at it. The Ork tried to block the Zergling, but its arms would not move as well as before. In that moment's hesitation, the primary claws dug deep into the shoulder blades and completely severed the deeply-rooted muscle for arms.

The Ork fell, and was soon trampled on the head by another Ork that had been chasing another Zergling.

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><p>Okay, that was impressive, but the Ork died. That was all that mattered. I did have almost unlimited number of Zerglings, though it would take time to make them. I was sure that five hundred Zerglings would be quite enough, and I was certain that the Hydralisks and Roaches would finish the job. I had forgotten two major things.<p>

Firstly, the Warboss.

The Warboss was a moron, like all the Orks, but he was a genius in battle. He shouted 'Waaagh!', and he shouted something at this Orks. Though I was certain that most of the Orks could not hear him, their movements changed. The Orks began to head toward the Roaches and the Hydralisks and rather ignored the Zerglings. Another shout rang across the battlefield, and my second mistake came into play.

The Gretchins.

The FIVE HUNDRED Gretchins.

Certainly, they were no match against my Zerglings in one on one battle. The problem was that my Zerglings were busy killing Orks, and the Gretchins in greater number than Zerglings proved to be a massive distraction. For each Zergling, at least three to four Gretchin attacked, and attempted to jam their little knives or shoot revolver-like weapons at the Zerglings. Swarmed by the Gretchins, a significant number of Zerglings fell away from the main Ork forces and began to engage the Gretchins.

I had realized my mistakes a little late, but it was not too late to intervene. I immediately took back control over my minions and decided to deal with the problem that I could actually deal with.

The Warboss was now my target.

The Warboss had a chainaxe and a large shoota that was powerful and impressive enough to shoot down a Zergling after about a dozen point-blank shots. The chainaxe did cause more damage though, and with each swing, a Zergling died. Also, around him were the Slugga Boyz, the few Orks in his clan with any guns. I had to deal with him and his posse.

With a single thought, I brought out my weapon against the Warboss.

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><p>The uber Ultralisk charged with psionic energy exploded out of the ground and roared so loud that the Orks nearby stopped to block their ears.<p>

Before the Warboss or other Orks could realize what was happening, the Ultralisk got to work. Its Kaiser Blades were much more nimble and was able to move in a greater range of angles and arcs. With a single outward sweep, the two primary Kaiser Blades cut through five Orks, three to the right and two to the left. They fell, or more accurately, their torsos fell and their legs crumbled down.

The Warboss immediately realized that it was a challenge to him and for him. He could no longer hide behind his Nobz to weaken the enemy and to run away would force him to defend his throne as the Warboss. He had no choice but to fight the enormous monstrosity. The Warboss was one of the Feral Orks, and he was only slightly taller than 3.5m but the Ultralisk was usually 5m in height and nearly 20m in length including the Kaiser Blades. That would be a normal Ultralisk. The uber Ultralisk had been with me since I have arrived here, and it had grown bigger and stronger.

Standing nearly 6m in height, its Kaiser Blades lightly glowing in blue aura and covered in thick carapace, the uber Ultralisk was well on its way to become an Omegalisk without my help. It stomped the ground, and the impact shuddered the land. Then when the eyes of the Warboss had met the eyes of the Ultralisk, they roared in unison and charged at each other.

Like two titans, the Warboss and the Ultralisk clash against each other.

The Warboss ducked as the pair of Kaiser Blades cut through the air like scissors and would have chopped off the head of the Warboss if he did not duck. The Warboss rolled forward, unintentionally evading the secondary blades under the primary blades. The Warboss got back up and fired his shoota at the Ultralisk's head, hoping to fire at what appeared to be unprotected underside.

That would have worked if it was a normal Ultralisk. At that exact moment, like a turtle hiding in its shell, the Ultralisk pulled its head in just enough to evade the attack, and then moved sideways and attempted to stomp on the Warboss. The Warboss quickly ran forward, keeping himself right under the Ultralisk's belly. Immediately changing his tactics, the Warboss reached up and slashed the Ultralisk's underside with his chainaxe.

The bio-carapace screamed as powerful teeth of the chainaxe scraped at it. Even with the extra thick carapace, the belly of the Ultralisk was soon exposed. If it had been a normal Ultralisk, that chainaxe, mixed with the strength of the Warboss, would have caused a serious damage to the Zerg creature. This Ultralisk, however, quickly charged forward, knocking the Warboss and removing itself from the Warboss's arc of attack. Then after cutting through several Orks, it turned and charged at the Warboss again.

The Warboss fired his shoota, and attempted to bravely stand his ground. Then from behind, a large air unit descended. With many tentacles, the Corruptor had appeared. Of the three, only this one was seen, and it sprayed dark green acid from its mouth at the Warboss' back. The strange acid instantly covered the Ork Warboss, and the Warboss was taken by surprise. It was a bad time to panic or even to flinch. When the Warboss turned his head, he only saw the two very sharp ends of the Kaiser Blades.

The Ultralisk skewered the Warboss. Then as the Warboss coughed blood and attempted to fire his shoota at the Ultralisk, the creature raised the Warboss into the air and then with all its might, it pulled the Kaiser Blades outward. The great Warboss was torn in two, and his blood showered the head of the Ultralisk.

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><p>The Ork Warboss, who showed much promise as a possible regular character, had died so absurdly and so easily. However, this had made me think of how fragile a life is. Of course, I wasn't thinking of it along the line of 'Zergling's life is also precious' but it did show me that a critical mistake can end a life so quick, even one as tough as that of an Ork Warboss. Certainly, this Warboss was a fail, but I was sure that future Ork Warboss that I may encounter might be a little stronger than him, and my Ultralisk could easily lose.<p>

Ignoring that little revelation aside, the battle was not going too well. The Hydralisks were now fighting with their claws rather than their spines and half the Roaches were now locked in melee against the Orks as well. The only upside at that point was that the Warboss was dead, but because he did not die in some glorious combat but was killed in such absurd way, there was no great impact of his death. The Warboss was obviously not a charismatic leader and this Waaagh! must have been created through provoking the war-lust of the Ork rather than the forceful command of the Warboss.

Though the Orks flinched a little and drew back when their Warboss died, they were enjoying themselves too much. I could not have that. My uber units came out from the ground and supported the uber Ultralisk as it waded through the ranks of Orks and Zerglings. The mighty Kaiser Blades cut through a dozen Orks and a few Zerglings as collateral damage. The trampling of the Ultralisk did catch the eyes of the Orks, and instead of attacking the Ultralisk like stupid little Orks, the Orks scattered away from the Ultralisk and doubled their attacks on the Hydralisks and Roaches instead. This was clever for the Orks as they effectively moved out from the attacks of the Ultralisk.

Among these Orks was one particular Ork that I should have been careful to kill. I didn't know of his importance then but if I did, I would have made sure I killed him. This particular Ork would be the single most annoying thorn at my side for many years to come.

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><p>The Ork Boy was almost a Nob. He was the leader of his small band because he was larger, faster and smarter than the rest of his band. He was larger than an average Boy but smaller than a Nob. This Ork was cunning, however. He was more intelligent, perhaps due to his slightly larger head and the bigger brain inside. A mutation that would usually work for a BigMek or Weirdboy afflicted this Ork, but didn't quite make it so that he turned out as one of those special Ork type. He wasn't religious but he thought that Gork and Mork were looking after him. This Waaagh! was a good thing for this Ork, who didn't really have a name yet.<p>

This Waaagh! was going to provide much needed relief of the tension building up inside the clan. With this Ork, he needed a war to be violent and needed situations where he can show off his prowess to the rest of his band, so that he would get enough respect to grow larger. Now, he found himself in the middle of the Waaagh! away from the very front. This was not a happy situation for this Ork, but he dared not to say anything to the massive Warboss who can instantly turn the Ork into two pieces of bloodied mush in green leather.

When the Roaches, Hydralisks and Zerglings appeared all over the battlefield, the Ork was over the moon with joy at the chance to fight. He smashed at Zergling's head with his axe and cleaved the head into two. Then stepping on the dead body, he leapt on to another Zergling, which got squashed by the Ork's weight. Finishing the Zergling with a deft stroke at its neck, the Ork was now near the position of the Hydralisks. The 50 Hydralisks and 20 Roaches were now numbering around 45 Hydralisks and 10 Roaches, their number reduced by the deadly power of the Ork melee attacks.

This Ork was also pining to fight one of the larger creatures, and now was his chance. He grabbed nearby Ork by the back of the neck and pressed him forward. Shouting Waaagh! and pointing at the Hydralisks, the Ork drove his witless comrades against the large creatures on the dirt mounds. Two Roaches and two Hydralisks noticed them and fired their deadly projectiles. One of the Orks melded in the green acid of the Roach while another fell down after taking a full volley of a Hydralisk's attack right in the face.

The Ork had used its comrade as a shield, and that poor fellow was hit in the chest by the Hydralisk spines then was had its torso cleaved by the scythed claws of the Hydralisk. This gave a chance for the Ork. He threw aside his dead comrade and charged at the Hydralisk that immediately roared at him. Evading the claw by a hair's width, the Ork slammed his axe at the Hydralisk's right chest, right under the right elbow. Though the axe was mere steel, the sheer strength of an Ork had allow it to crush through the carapace and allowed half the axe to be struck through the chest of the Zerg.

Without a moment's hesitation, the Ork lunged forward and grabbed the tail of the Hydralisk. With all his strength, the Ork pulled the tail, forcing the Hydralisk to fall flat on its face. The Ork immediately turned around and saw the Hydralisk using its left claw to push itself around. The Ork saw the gap in that movement and immediately stomped on the joint of the left arm, disabling the Hydralisk's last remaining melee weapon. Then with a gleeful smile and brute strength, the Ork swung his arms at the creature. The Hydralisk would normally have fired its spines, but its position and wounds was so that it could not move the major muscles that allow the firing of the spines.

Left without a method to defend itself, the Hydralisk could only roar in frustration as the first Ork punch slammed across its head. The hard carapace, thick exoskeleton covered in a thin stretched layer of leather and with a little flesh underneath protecting its skull, screamed as the Ork's powerful punch began to pound on it. The first punch shook the Hydralisk's brain so that it temporarily lost consciousness. The second punch jolted it back awake. The third punch made a large crack on the exoskeleton like a stone thrown at a thick window.

The forth punch let the shards of carapace to pierce through the thin layer of leathery muscle tissues and exposed the skull. The fifth punch caused a crack on the skull. The sixth punch made the web of cracks even larger. The seventh, and last, punch shoved the sharp shards of the Hydralisk's skull into its tiny brain. Though the Hydralisk's brain was elongated, the front part was the important part in its physiology as well. With that punch, the Hydralisk let out a final screech before it died.

The Ork smiled cheerfully even though his left fist was all mangled up. He looked up, and he saw the Ultralisk wading through the ranks of Orks. Somehow, an understanding dawned on him. The Warboss was dead. Almost all of the Nobz were dead and the rest were dying. There was no one left back in the clan as big as him, and he was almost certain that most of the large Orks in this battle would not survive. They were too focused on the battle, challenging the large creatures to fight, and only to torn to pieces by the little ones or melted by shots of acid.

He looked down at the corpse of the Hydralisk, and instead of taking out his half crunched up steel axe, he grabbed the Hydralisk's right claw by the roots and pulled. In two powerful tugs, the claw came out with all the nerves and muscles still stringing along. He straightened the elbow and the scythed claws folded outward. The moment of fascination passed as the understanding that his new weapon was in his hands began flood him along with the returning thirst for fighting.

He looked around for his next target and found a Roach slicing an Ork Boy with its pair of broad attack claws. The Ork was upon the Roach before it could react or even notice. With a powerful kick, the Ork stunned the Roach, and surprised, it turned to face the Ork rather than simply swing at him with its claw. It was a fatal mistake as the deadly claw of a Hydralisk came down upon its head before it could retract it. The scythed claw pierced right on top of the primary brain stem and the Roach screeched pathetically before collapsing on its legs. Swinging the Hydralisk claws again, the Ork pierced the roots of the Roach's claws.

One by one, the Ork pulled out the two claws from the dead Roach body, evading the two separate spine attacks by the nearby Hydralisks, which were quickly re-engaged in a fight with other Orks. Once this strange Ork got what he wanted, the Ork looked at the battlefield once more with a little longing, then he ran down the mound, away from the battle.

This Ork disappeared into the wilderness and would return as a Warboss. It would take the name Warboss Bugklaw, and would be famous for scavenging the claws of the dead Zerg and arming himself and his Orks with them, but that would still be years from this point, and the new Overmind would rue the day he failed to kill this particular Ork Boy.


	9. Chapter 9

I own nothing that is not original...

* * *

><p>Thanks for all the reviews!<p>

Sorry for the slow posting. I've been writing a lot of my Korean stories and that took most of my little remaining free time. However, I hope to get back into writing more of the Swarm of War, and return to writing the next chapter of the Stargate: Galactic Imperium.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

The battle was tied. The Orks and the Zerg units fought each other, literally with teeth and nails and claws. Then came the Ork reinforcement. The mighty Squiggoth roared from the top of the hill. Then with the urgings of its handler, the Squiggoth charged.

'Here comes the MONSTER!'

The Squiggoth charged down the hill, its massive body mass quickly gaining enormous momentum. Its feet shook the earth like an earthquake and the Zerglings and Orks scrambled out of the giant's way as it waded into the sea of battle and death. Nothing could stop this monstrosity as it stomped forward, unhindered by anything in front of it. Yet, I was not so easy to defeat. I knew from the beginning of its existence and I had prepared for it. Immediately, two Corruptors appeared from the clouds and descended toward the Squiggoth.

The Squiggoth had its eyes on the uber-Ultralisk. The Squiggoth was an Ork after all, and it wanted a fight, and all the tiny things down near his feet were not worth its time. It didn't think but it instinctively felt the joys and pleasures of battle, and it knew its target. It never got to the Ultralisk as the Gorgelings and Banelings suddenly popped up all around its feet and crashed themselves at the feet. The Squiggoth felt pain. It never really felt this kind of pain. From the Baneling attack, the Squiggoth suddenly felt pain with each step it took.

The excruciating pain continued up its legs as the acid ate its way up the veins of the creature and ate at its bones. The feet of the Squiggoth was too much for the few Banelings and Gorgelings to completely sever, but they caused enough damage to make it stumble. It did not fall, but it stumbled and lost its momentum, and then it stopped. It no longer wanted to move its feet. The driver did all it could but the creature would not move. As the powerful Ork physiology began to heal the wound, the acid still ate its way up the legs.

'Corruptors! Corruption on the Squiggoth!'

At my mental command, Corruptors came. One came on each side, and sprayed strange acid, different from the Baneling acids. The Corruption acid found its way between the molecular bonds and loosened them. It did not last too long, but it was enough. At that moment, I brought up the two other Ultralisks. They burst out from the ground and charged. The Squiggoth was large, and it was large enough for the Corruptors to attack. They strange physiology of the parasite that grows in the Corruptors made them heavily influenced by gravity, therefore capable only of attacking air, and the Squiggoth was big enough and tall enough for the Corruptors to even attempt attacking it.

The Ultralisks charged, and they pointed their Kaiser Blades upward, and skewered the creature in its stomach, and the three Corruptors, including the uber-Corruptor, fired their parasite ammunition at the Squiggoth. Its feet tied up, its stomach punctured and held by two strong large creatures and being attacked by the flying creatures, the Squiggoth screamed and roared in frustration. Although only a fifth of the Corruptor's attacks were capable of actually attacking the Squiggoth, it was enough make holes and craters on the Squiggoth's back.

'Take that, mindless beast!'

The Squiggoth had enough. It roared and screamed and began to flail its head in order to shake off the Ultralisks. The Ultralisks had continued to attack using the lesser blades to cut deeper into the Squiggoth's belly. With the Ultralisks continuing to charge into the belly of the bigger beast, the Squiggoth also continued its struggle to free itself. Yet, each struggle made the wound deeper and wider, with the Corruption acid still making the attacks more deadly.

The Orks and the lesser Zerg creatures still fought each other, with the Zerg beginning to show signs of victory. The Ork boys had finally realized the demise of their Warboss and their morals began to break, and a broken army is easier to kill. My Zerg showed no such weakness. Moral is never the problem. The only reason why my Zerg may run away would be to minimize pointless casualties. This was not a pointless casualty. With the battle slowly turning to my side, I had the remaining Banelings and Gorgelings to attack the Orks.

More splashes of acid further weakened the Orks, and with their Squiggoth so disabled, the Orks began to flee, only to be shot down by remaining Hydralisks or chased down by the Zerglings. The Gretchins were wiped out, though they did took out quite a few Zerglings. However, gun-less Gretchins were nothing to my Zerglings in the long run. The Zerglings quickly swarmed at the Ork boys, focusing on the more heavily armed Slugga Boys, intending to disable their gun shooting. Each Ork boy soon found itself swarmed over by one or two Zerglings, and larger Orks were surrounded by even more.

'This should be the end... but I think I missed something... What is it?'

Then the Overseer saw something. It was a dust cloud from the north. There was nothing north. It was just empty grassland between the battle and the village.

'Wait... dust cloud... Unless... AH! The Boarboys!'

I had completely forgotten about the Boarboys. I was so excited about the death of the Warboss and completely synchronized neutralization of the Squiggoth that I had forgotten about the Boarboys. I guess I was distracted by the strange ringing I kept hearing from the Khaydarin crystals, and my human part continued to randomly flood me with emotions and mistakes. I focused my mind and immediately dispatched a counterattack. I just hoped that it would arrive in time.

The uber-Ultralisk and my other uber-ground units burrowed into the ground as the Boarboys came, but I could not have that with the rest of the forces, and thankfully, the stupid Boarboys charged into the random masses of fighting creatures. Their devastating charge crushed both Zerg and Ork, and the red blood from both side carpeted the ground.

'Come on! Faster! Here they are!'

My counterattack arrived. The Mutalisks came. They were sent to south to cut off any escaped Orks, but it appeared that I was not destined to annihilate every Ork in this battle. The Mutalisks came swooping down and fired their Glaive Wurms at Orks.

The fast-spinning, acid-covered parasites were shot out from the rear end of the Mutalisks and dove into the flesh of Ork boys. Their extreme spin as well as the exterior acid tore its way into the Ork body, and then the Glaive Wurm would spew out more acid, and using that explosive excretion of acid, would spin out from the body, going toward the next target as sensed by their primitive and limited nervous systems. Yet, they were so effective against the lightly armored Orks.

When striking the head, the Glaive Wurm could actually kill an Ork with a single shot, and without being bogged down by the masses of muscles in other parts of the body, the Glaive Wurms did more damage to the next target. Soon, my Mutalisks began to feast on the death of the Ork army as their Glaive Wurms dealt the final death-blow to the Waaagh! and its members.

The Squiggoth finally succumbed though its struggle had left the two Ultralisk exhausted, which is almost impossible to do since Zergs rarely get tired. The energy expended in holding down the mighty Squiggoth was too much and the Ultralisks became 'rather' sluggish, but still energetic enough to tear apart a dozen Boarboys and Ork boys.

Without the Warboss or the Squiggoth, and with the flying attacker that Orks could not fight back, Orks finally broke. They ran, and my Zerglings chased them. The speed of my Zerglings was good enough to chase down most of them but few slipped through. While my Mutalisks were finishing off the Boarboys, I suddenly heard a scream.

'What the hell?'

It was not quite a scream, but an individual within my mental link. I recognized it immediately. It was Toby. Tobias the Zergling, somehow gaining a moment of individuality, screamed at me for something. It wanted, no... it needed something.

* * *

><p>My mind immediately swallowed up Toby, and I entered his body, and I saw... deaths.<p>

Alena was screaming, and Toby was growling at a man. This man was not one of the villagers, and he had a lasgun. I recognized the lasgun at first sight. Though it was far more ornate as if it had been passed down from one generation to the next as a sacred relic, it was undoubtedly the 'flashlight' of the Imperial Guards that was renowned for the lack of firepower.

'Except that the dead villagers were killed by lasguns.'

Through Toby's eyes I could see the villagers all dead with holes in their bodies. There must have been other men here, killing the villagers and dragging their bodies outside. Then I was snapped to attention as the soldier raised his lasgun.

I immediately took action. Toby sprang forward, evading the shot of lasgun and driving the front claws into the man's chest, and Toby's +3 attack upgrade had allowed his claws to easily pierce the man'a simple steel armor. Then the attack claws unfurled from their Alena-friendly mode and tore into the both side of the man's neck, severing the neck and the spine. The man fell with Toby still on it.

From the height of the slowly toppling gunman, Toby saw the village set ablaze. Most of the villagers would be head and there were dozens of men in the village setting fire and shooting their lasguns. Then two soldiers walked around the corner. They saw Toby on top of their fallen comrade and immediately raised their guns. It was too far for Toby to leap, but the soldiers never got the chance.

Elric, Alena's father, came out from nowhere wearing steel chest armor and helmet, with a rapier in the left hand and a longsword in the right. He was quick. With deft strokes of blades, Elric's rapier cut through the exposed necks of a soldier and the longsword struck at the other soldier's chest. The soldiers were well trained as well, and they immediately fired into Elric's body just as they were dying. Pulling trigger wasn't too difficult even for the dying.

With two big twitches, Elric fell. His armor could not stand the two lasgun shots. Alena ran to Elric and Toby followed to guard Alena. Elric spoke to Toby first.

"Toby... take Alena... Keep her safe... Take her north..."

He labored to breathe then spoke to Alena.

"Alena... you know that papa loves you..."

"Yes, papa."

"I wish... I wish... I could have told you more... about... your mother..."

"Papa! Papa!"

Hearing the voices of Alena, more soldiers appeared, and just as fast, they were dead, this time from two other warriors of the village. Volran, the chief, was already bloody and he has lost half of his left arm from a lasgun shot, and he was holding a large axe with remaining arm. The other man was a well-armored Hargen, who dressed like a knight with all the pomp including a coat of arms. Apparently, he was a knight before he became a plain villager.

Then the soldiers appeared in larger group, and with a leader. The enemy was led by a knight in gleaming steel, a knight with white robes and a man in black. I thought the man-in-black was an Inquisitor except for all the lack of advanced weapons. The knight in steel armor seemed to recognize Hargen.

"Why, if it isn't Sir Hargen Strikson! How fortunate am I to see you again. I believe that your head would still fetch a grand price in the north."

Okay... WTF! Hargen was a knight with a price on his head? This was more interesting, but not as interesting the survival of Alena and Toby. Toby growled at the enemy. The man in black pointed his laspistol at Toby.

"Sir Strikson, is it? Did you know that you are protecting a Witch and her daemonhound? I will allow you to leave, if you would just give us the girl."

Hargen shook his head.

"Not in your life, Inquisitor."

Okay, he IS an Inquisitor but he looks pretty weak.

Volran turned his head to look at Alena.

"Alena, take Toby and run."

"What?"

"RUN!"

The 'Inquisitor' screamed.

"Do not let her escape!"

I've had enough of all this, and made Toby run with Alena. I drove him to drive under Alena's feet and carry her on his back. Then he ran with all his might and fully upgraded Zergling speed.

* * *

><p>Toby ran for hours. He did not tire. He did not need to drink. He did not need to pause for breath. Finally, he arrived at the foot of the mountain range that led toward the Primary Hive Cluster. Here, he paused and checked Alena's status. Alena was fast asleep with dried tears turned into thin streams of salt. She must have been tired after playing with Toby all day and then finding the village destroyed, and then riding Toby for hours.<p>

The sun was setting and the long shadow of the Zergling with the girl on his back was cast over the looming forest before them. After making sure that she was alright, Toby turned back toward the forest. Suddenly he stopped. His acute hearing, combined with the psionic influence of the new Overmind, he could hear things afar, and he heard the galloping of horses. There were many horses, at least twenty, and Toby was in no position fight them. However, he was quickly dissuaded from any such foolish actions. Though he had just gained his individuality, the link with the Overmind was still unbreakable.

The Overmind had sent what Zerglings he could spare and sent them toward the village as soon as he was in the body of Toby, and they had ran through the dense forest and just arrived at Toby's location. Much to the surprise of the Overmind, there was a sort of unspoken echelon amid the Zerglings, and the stronger and smarter ones always led the pack. This usually created no real distinctions but with Toby gaining individuality had made him an uber-Zergling capable of being a node for the Overmind's control. Though he could only provide only about 3 population units in terms of Starcraft 2, this had meant that the Zerglings were easier to control when they were near Toby.

The Overmind found it most interesting and was determined to experiment on Toby and other uber-Zergs for their strange mutation. However, both the Overmind and Toby shared a goal. They wanted to keep Alena safe. They felt comforted by her innocence and her presence. They were not ready to let some humans hurt the girl. As Toby headed into the forest, nineteen riders and six spare horses arrive at the foot of the hills that met the forest.

They got off the horse. They had lost six men in the village, three Imperial Cult Knights and three Guardsmen. The most insulting thing was that only one was killed by the daemon hound and the others were killed by the villagers. To have retribution to this insult to their honor, they were now very determined to find the hideout of the daemons and the 'magician' who summoned them.

The Imperial Guardsmen and the Imperial Cultists spread out, with four remaining back to hold the horses. The Inquisitor Pardia, Captain Barridon and Sir Ardigan all got off their horses, and checked their weapons. From their long experiences in wars and battles, they felt the uneasy ground they tread on. Barridon frowned.

"This is too quiet. May be we are farther from their nest than we suspected."

Pardia shook his head.

"No, all that I know suggested that the lair of the summoner would be deep within the forest where he or she can hide easily."

In that exact moment, the six Zerglings that had burrowed underground shot out. With fearsome screeches of a beast, the Zerglings lunged at the human intruders. The soldiers of the Imperial Cult and the Imperial Guards were well-trained but they had never faced an enemy who popped out from the ground. Those soldiers nearest to the Zerglings were the ones who died. Of the six Zerglings, four of them found their target nearby and lunged at them.

Two soldiers went down immediately with their chests torn out by the sharp claws of the Zerglings. One of the Imperial Guard soldiers had blocked the oncoming Zergling with his lasgun and immediately kicked the creature when it fell to the ground. The other survivor of the immediate attack was an Imperial Cultist and he had his sword out and the Zergling was conveniently skewered by the sword through its own momentum.

One Zergling went for Captain Barridon, but it met a quick death as Barridon immediately fired at the Zergling with such precision that the first shot took out the right eye, then the left eye, and the forehead. Although the shot to the forehead only made a dent, the quick jab of Sir Ardigan's sword at that wound finished the Zergling. The last Zergling went for the Inquisitor only to be instantly cut in half by the power sword.

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><p>The<p>

Swarm

of

War

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><p>Possible Future Evolutions - Evaluated Game Stat - Units with * are my creation<p>

So, give me your thoughts on them!

* * *

><p>Drone - MegaDrone (equivalent to MULE of Terran)<p>

* * *

><p>Overlord - Overseer - Hiveseer*<p>

***Hiveseer**:

Role:Field Commander - Air, Biological, Massive /

Production: 100 Min, 100 Gas /

300 HP, Regen 0.54 / 200 Energy, Regen 0.56 /

Movement: 1.88 / Armor: Armored 3 / Sight Range: 15 /

Damage: 2 x 9 dmg - Glaive Wurms / Attk Range: 5 /

Ability: Synapse (+0.27 Regen for all Zerg units and structures in Range 6 for 30 secs), Spawn Changeling (same as Overseer), Excrete Creep (same as Overlord)

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><p>Changeling - Viraling* - Spyling*<p>

***Viraling:**

Role: Spy, Terrorist - Ground, Biological /

Production: +10 Min, +25 Gas /

25 HP, Regen 0.27 / 0 Energy, Regen 0.00 /

Movement: 2.25 (burrowed 2.25) / Armor: 0 / Sight Range: 10 /

Damage: 2.5 dmg / Attk Range: 6 or melee /

Ability: Burrow/Burrow Move, Shapeshifting, Viral Bomb (sacrifice itself to create a virulent virus bomb similar to Defiler's Plague or pneumonic plague)

***Spyling:**

Role: Spy, Assassin - Ground, Biological /

Production: +50 Min, +50 Gas /

50 HP, Regen 0.27 / 0 Energy, Regen 0.00 /

Movement: 2.75 (burrowed 2.25) / Armor: 0 / Sight Range: 9 /

Damage: 5 dmg / Attk Range: 6 or melee /

Ability: Burrow/Burrow Move, Shapeshifting, BrainSwap (Sacrifice itself to absorb target's brain and enters the skull to control the body, absorbs all memories of the brain and can mimic the target with maximum precision, unable to use on psykers)

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><p>Zergling - BanelingSplitterling/Gorgeling

Swarmling - NONE [4 Zerglings spawn from a Larva instead of 3 but lose ability to turn into Baneling series]

Raptor - 2 x Baneling/Splitterling/Gorgeling, Velociraptor*

***Velociraptor**:

Role: Advanced Melee - Ground, Biological /

Production: +75 Min, +25 Gas /

75 HP, Regen 0.27 / 100 Energy, Regen 0.56 /

Movement: 4.69 / Armor: Armored 1 / Sight Range: 9 /

Damage: 10 dmg - 4 x Claws / Attk Range: Melee /

Ability: Burrow, Leap (same as Raptor), Evolve (2 x Baneling/Splitterling/Gorgeling), Psionic Claw (+10 vs Armor, cost 5 Energy/sec)

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><p>Baneling - Renewling*<p>

Splittering - Renewling/Splitter*

Gorgeling - Renewling/Gorge*

***Renewling:**

Role: Suicidal Attack - Ground, Biological /

Production: +25 Min, +25 Gas /

30 HP, Regen 0.27 / 0 Energy, Regen 0.00 /

Movement: 2.75 (burrowed 2.25) / Armor: 1 / Sight Range: 8 /

Damage: 20 dmg (+20 vs Light) / Attk Range: 0.25 /

Ability: Burrow/Burrow Move, Posthumus Regeneration (Plan a seed underground upon death, 45 secs to mature into a Baneling/Splitterling/Gorgeling)

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><p>From Roach, the abilities (except for Leech) are my imagination and not of Blizzard's work<p>

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><p>Roach - Beetle, Smoker<p>

Prowler - Smoker*

***Smoker:**

Role: Defensive Support - Ground, Biological /

Production: +25 Min, +75 Gas /

195 HP, Regen 0.27 / 0 Energy, Regen 0.00 /

Movement: 2.25 (burrowed 2.25) / Armor: Armored 2 / Sight Range: 9 /

Damage: 18 dmg / Attk Range: 6 /

Ability: Burrow/Burrow Move, Acidic Mist (15sec, Similar to Dark Swarm of Defiler & 5dmg/sec to any enemy within the AOE, cd 18sec)

Leech - Beetle*

***Beetle:**

Role: Offensive Support - Ground, Biological /

Production: +75 Min, +25 Gas /

225 HP, Regen 0.27 / 100 Energy, Regen 0.56 /

Movement: 2.25 (burrowed 2.25) / Armor: Armored 3 / Sight Range: 9 /

Damage: 16 dmg / Attk Range: 6 /

Ability: Burrow/Burrow Move, Psionic Carapace (+5 Armor for 15 sec, cd 18sec, cost 65 Energy)

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><p>Hydralisk - Lurker<p>

Hunter*

Slayer*

***Hunter:**

Role: Ranged Attacker - Ground, Biological /

Production: 100 Min, 100 Gas /

120 HP, Regen 0.27 / 100 Energy, Regen 0.54 /

Movement: 2.45 (burrowed 2.25) / Armor: Armored 0 / Sight Range: 10 /

Damage: 15 dmg / Attk Range: 6(+1 range upgrade) /

Ability: Burrow/Burrow Move, Psionic Spine (+15 vs Armor, cost 5 Energy/sec)

***Slayer:**

Role: Heavy Support - Ground, Biological /

Production: 200 Min, 100 Gas /

200 HP, Regen 0.27 / 100 Energy, Regen 0.54 /

Movement: 2.45 (burrowed 2.25) / Armor: Armored 0 / Sight Range: 10 /

Damage: 15 dmg (+10 vs Light) / Attk Range: 6(+1 range upgrade) /

Ability: Burrow/Burrow Move, Burst Attack (3 sec delay, small AOE damage equal to 4 attacks, cost 25 Energy/sec, cd 15 sec)

* * *

><p>That's it for now, but I got Mutalisks, Corruptors, Ultralisks and more coming!<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

I own nothing that is not original...

* * *

><p>Thanks for all the reviews!<p>

Sorry for the slow posting. I've been writing a lot of my Korean stories and that took most of my little remaining free time. However, I hope to get back into writing more of the Swarm of War, and return to writing the next chapter of the Stargate: Galactic Imperium.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

Inquisitor Pardia growled as he stared down at the corpse of another 'daemon hound'. He had suspected that there would be more daemonic creatures, but he did not expect so many to come at him. He had hoped to bring more men to this, but the army was late. The army was supposed to wipe out the village while the Inquisitor and his men searched for the daemon's summoner. Without that army, the Inquisitor had to improvise and that had cost him valuable men.

As he pondered, Captain Barridon came up to him along with Sir Ardigan.

"Lord Inquisitor, what now?"

Pardia turned, and saw the corpses.

"What can you tell me about these creatures, captain?"

Barridon looked down at the nearest corpse of the 'daemon hound'.

"These things are tough, but not unkillable."

Ardigan added his voice to the matter.

"Their hides seem to be some sort of metallic shell. Somewhat like the shells of the Orgri Turtles on the west coast, but greatly tougher and harder to pierce with sword."

Pardia nodded.

"Only the power sword was able to cleave it in half. What of lasguns?"

Barridon shook his head.

"The lasguns are more effective than swords but I doubt that a laspistol would be as effective. If we had more men with lasgun, then we would be more effective."

Pardia narrowed his eyes and thought hard. Then he turned to Barridon.

"Are we ready to depart?"

"We are redistributing the lasguns among the men. It's a pity those few warriors among the villagers damaged several of our holy weapons."

Pardia nodded.

"It appears that we need more men."

Ardigan shook his head.

"We have no more men, Inquisitor. The fact that the army has not been seen or heard would most certainly be evidence that they have been waylaid, by some baron already under the influence of the daemon, or the daemonic army itself."

"That is possible, Sir Ardigan, but I do have a few more men in my hand."

Pardia took out some sort of stubby pistol and fired it into the sky. A bright red flare shot into the air.

"A flare gun! I've only heard of them. Only the Inquistors and highest military officers are given such precious tool."

"Indeed, captain. Not even we used these often as the price of the ammunition is extremely high, and even with a fortune, it is hard to get more ammunition."

Barridon asked, his curiosity overwhelming his manners.

"If they are so useful, why do 'they' not make more ammunition?"

Ardigan answered.

"Who knows why do the Techpriests do what they do, Captain? They are mysterious bunch, and they seclude themselves in their tower and refuse to aid the King. Their belief in their 'Omnissiah' is bordering on heresy."

Pardia raised his hand, and Ardigan fell silent.

"I understand the views common among the Cultists, but it is the jurisdiction of the Inquisition as to who is heretic, sir knight. We have long deemed that the Techpriests are not heretics, and their value on this world is vital in maintaining human dominion of this world."

"Of course, Inquisitor. I misspoke."

"Not really, sir knight. They do 'border' heresy but not quite. If it is not for their valuable knowledge, they would have already been cast as heretics. However, they do produce and repair any technology we have, including the valuable lasguns and even more rare power weapons."

As he spoke, a group of men in black clothing appeared. The Imperial Guards and the Cultists drew their weapons but were ordered to stand down. The men approached the Inquisitor.

"We are all here, Inquistor."

"Good. Gentlemen, these are my Inquisitorial Troops. They will aid us in hunting down the daemon's master."

"Yes, sir."

The Inquisitorial Troops dressed very much like the Inquisitor except for all the medals and the hat. They all carried a laspistol and power sword, though obviously much similar and cruder design than that of the Inquistor.

Pardia looked at the forest.

"Lahor, take these creatures and head back to the Capital. My brothers need to understand the severity of our situation."

One of the Inquisitorial Troops nodded.

"Sergeant Yalde, prepare your men, we are heading into the forest." 

* * *

><p>I was staring at the humans. They had more men now. However, twenty six men were nothing, even with lasguns. I had plenty of Spine Crawlers around my Hive Clusters. The trouble was that it would still take hours for Toby to get to the nearest Hive Cluster and I had no more Zerglings to send at the moment.<p>

Unlike the game, where a pair of Zergling is spawned in 24 seconds, the real Zerglings were spawned in nearly 24 hours. The Hatchery, supposedly created in 100 seconds, actually took nearly 200 hours, and much larger than it is in the game. The time differences aside, I had nearly a hundred Zerglings in their cocoons, ready to be born in several hours, but it would be too late to cut off these humans before they find the outermost Hive Cluster.

This was now a game of time. 

* * *

><p>The humans filtered through the forest. The 'daemon hound' was heavy and left clear footprints. The creature was obviously not smart enough to think about that. The Inquisitor and his men carefully yet quickly followed the trail, running at times to catch up with the creature. The men were better armed at this time as the weapons of their dead comrades were now in the hands of the living soldiers. Several Cultists were given lasguns which was obviously better than the laspistol.<p>

For hours, they waded through the sparse forest, and sometimes climbing steep slopes for the shortcuts. Men were split into groups, rejoined, and split again as they followed the trail. They had the advantage in that they could climb, while the creature could not, particularly with the girl on its back. Then they heard the sound. It had been hours but they had finally caught up with the creature close enough to hear it. As they drew closer, they heard the girl.

She was crying, and they heard the sound of a stream rushing down the steeper slopes. The girl must have stopped to drink, and then burst into tears. The emotional trauma was actually welcomed by the Inquisitor. He had hoped to drive the girl with such panic and sadness that she could not cast any 'evil magic' on his men. It was obvious that the girl was still coherent enough to summon six more hounds but hearing her cry made them feel more comforted. At least she won't be summoning more creatures with that sort of mind.

The men silently climbed the slope, their swords and lasguns held ready to strike. Then Captain Barridon held out his hand to stop them. The creature and the girl were in a clearing near the streams. If they rushed out to slay or capture them, the creature would be able to flee with the girl. Carefully, Barridon raised his lasgun. At first, he aimed for the creature. However, he remembered his shots were useless against the other daemon hounds. If he could not kill with one shot, the chance would have been ruined.

At his nod, Sir Ardigan led his men around the clearing to cut off possible escape that way. The problem was that the creature and the girl may easily cross that narrow and shallow creek despite the rocky formations. Barridon breathed in deep, as was his ritual before a sniping shot. Carefully, he set the lasgun to its maximum setting and raised it. With deep slow breaths, he placed his finger on the trigger. His aim was at the creature's head, and then slowly he moved the iron sight toward the girl.

The girl was still crying, but it was almost over. Barridon's mouth dried as he felt the chance drain away by the seconds. Then the luck did not help Barridon. One of the men had stepped on a twig. The sound itself was not heard by the creature, but it did startle a bird on the ground. It was a common bird called the Stone Bird, and it pretended to be a small rock by hiding itself with its wings. When startled, however, it would flutter around and made very noisy sound. That sound made the creature to move just as that very sound startled Barridon to fire.

Buzzzzing!

With the sharp sound of air sliced through by the laser, the beam struck the side of the creature, clipping its wings, and hit the girl on the other side. She let out a scream and fell. The creature was infuriated, but as if directed by a superior intelligence, it flung the girl on its back with incredible use of its mouth, then jumped over the creek, disappearing into the forest on the other side.

Nobody blamed anyone, as their focus was now purely on capturing the girl and the creature. They crossed the creek and followed the trail of blood. 

* * *

><p>Shit!<p>

The bastards hit Alena!

I hurried Toby along as he leaped forward. He was hit too, but it was only one of his wings that took any damage. The problem was that Toby was slightly unbalanced because of the damaged wing. Since he had been living with Alena for the last several months and his intake of Creep was low, his regeneration was not as good as a normal Zergling's would be.

I quickly thought about my options. I did have four eggs of Zerglings ready to pop, and I could send them but that would take too long since their birth was near the middle of the peninsula and my Nydus Network was not quite ready. The only move I could make at the moment was to hurry Toby along with my mind.

"There it is!"

"Shoot it!"

The humans fired at Toby whenever they could see the glimpse of him between the trees. None of them hit, but few of them hit close enough for Toby to change course. These men were good at their job. They were hunting Toby like cornering a rabbit.

Then I realized that I need not send attack units against these humans. I immediately sent as many Overlords as possible. Their speed was upgraded so it did not take too much time. As they dotted the darkened sky above the trees, they began to excrete Creep into the forest.

"What is this?"

"Inquisitor!"

"I'm fine! Keep chasing!"

I could hear their voices as they suddenly found themselves surrounded and covered by Creep. In fact, the Inquisitor was covered in it. He quickly took off his hat and cloak and shook the Creep off his clothes. He looked up at the Overlords, noticing them only just then.

"What... More daemonic creatures!"

I stared at him through the eyes of the Overlord. Perhaps he felt my gaze. He suddenly raised his laspistol and fired at the Overlord that oozed the Creep on him.

"Die, creature!"

"Inquisitor, hurry!"

"Damn it!" 

* * *

><p>The Inquisitor and his men stopped. They had just stepped on to more of the ooze that the daemonic floating creatures were spewing down on them. This time, the carpet of ooze was thick and all around them. Carefully, they moved forward, noticing the desiccated trees. When they finally exited the trees, they all gazed at the massive Zerg structures and numerous Drones, Overlords and the Spine and Spore Crawlers that dotted the Hive Cluster.<p>

Barridon gulped as he turned to Pardia.

"Inquisitor?"

The Inquisitor was silent.

"Are these all daemons?"

Slowly, Pardia nodded, though there was some hidden uncertainty in his eyes.

"These must be the heart of the daemonic incursion. There!"

At his shout, the men looked at where Toby had stopped. Toby was still carrying Alena, who was bleeding. The Queen, though not the uber-Queen, used the Transfusion ability on Alena, with hurried modification to the healing enzyme so as to fit the human physiology. This would at least help Alena until Toby would get her to the uber-Queen, who was busy forming powerful healing enzyme designed specifically for humans.

"Inquisitor? What now? This is their base... I don't think we can destroy that structure with the weapons we have."

Pardia shook his head.

"No... That we cannot do at this time. However, we have seen their stronghold. We shall retreat for now, and we shall return with an army."

"Yes, sir."

Retreat? Who do they think they are? Do they really think that I, the great new Overmind, would allow them to simply stroll through my domain and leave unscathed?

They were awfully mistaken.

I had enough Zerglings born and burrowed all around them, and I even had two Hydralisks and a Roach. These guys were going to become MEAT! 

* * *

><p>Another set of possible mutations. These stats are for the StarCraft 2 and would not be directly translated into the story... because that would be silly.<p>

* * *

><p>Mutalisk - Guardian, Devourer<p>

Gattlisk*

***Gattlisk:**

Role: Air Unit - Air, Biological /

Production: 120 Min, 120 Gas /

150 HP, Regen 0.27 / 100 Energy, Regen 0.54 /

Movement: 3.75 / Armor: 1 / Sight Range: 11 /

Damage: 3 x 9 dmg - Glaive Wurms / Attk Range: 5 /

Ability: Focused Attack (3 sec delay, fires 9 Glaive Wurms at a single target, cost 25 Energy/sec, cd 15 sec)

* * *

><p>Corruptor - Broodlord, Scourer*<p>

***Scourer:**

Role: Heavy Anti-Air Unit - Air, Biological, Massive /

Production: 150 Min, 150 Gas /

225 HP, Regen 0.27 / 0 Energy, Regen 0.00 /

Movement: 2.95 / Armor: 1 / Sight Range: 12 /

Damage: 1 x 20 dmg - Scourge Pod / Attk Range: 8 /

Ability: Swarm Pods (Fires pods that contain a Scourge that is released upon impact)

* * *

><p>Ultralisk - Banelord*<p>

Omegalisk

***Banelord:**

Role: Heavy Ranged Assault Support - Ground, Biological, Massive /

Production: 100 Min, 100 Gas /

400 HP, Regen 0.27 / 0 Energy, Regen 0.00 /

Movement: 2.95 / Armor: Armored 1 / Sight Range: 9 /

Damage: 15 dmg (+20 vs armored) - Kaiser Blades, 2 x Explosive Baneling (20 dmg + 15 vs Light / Attk Range: melee, 8 /

Ability: Posthumous Banelings (upon death, Banelord spawns 12 Banelings/Splitterlings/Gorgelings)

* * *

><p>Infestor - Nestlord*<p>

***Nestlord:**

Role: Advanced Infestation Specialist, Anti-Psyker - Ground, Biological, Psionic /

Production: +100 Min, +100 Gas /

150 HP, Regen 0.27 / 250 Energy, Regen 0.56 /

Movement: 2.75 (burrowed 2.25) / Armor: 1 / Sight Range: 12 /

Damage: 0 dmg / Attk Range: NA /

Ability: Burrow/BurrowMove, Neural Parasitic Link (same animation as Neural Parasite but has range of 18 and lasts for 30 seconds, can be cast on up to 3 targets at the same time, cost 50 energy), Fungal Infestation (same animation as Fungal Growth but double the cast range/the AOE/the damage/duration, total 16 damage per sec for 8 seconds, cost 50 energy), Psionic Drain (Drain's target's psionic or psychic powers or energy, drains 16 energy per second for 6 seconds and deals 8 damage per sec, cost 25 energy)

* * *

><p>Queen - Matriarch*, Patriarch*<p>

***Matriarch:**

Role: Strategical Field Commander - Ground, Biological /

Production: +150 Min, +250 Gas /

275 HP, Regen 0.27 / 300 Energy, Regen 0.54 /

Movement: 1.25 (burrowed 1) / Armor: Armored 1 / Sight Range: 8 /

Damage: Psionic Spine 18 dmg (+18 vs Armored, Air and Ground), 8 dmg x 2 Psionic Claws (+8 vs Armored) / Attk Range: 8, 4 /

Ability: Burrow/Burrow Move, Creep Tumor, Spawn Larva, Transfusion, Spawn Broodling (same as Queen from Starcraft 1)

***Patriarch:**

Role: Tactical Field Commander - Ground, Biological, Massive /

Production: +250 Min, +150 Gas /

375 HP, Regen 0.54 / 200 Energy, Regen 0.54 /

Movement: 2.25 (burrowed 2) / Armor: Armored 3 / Sight Range: 10 /

Damage: 4 x Psionic Claws 36 dmg (+36 vs Armored), Void Beam 5 dmg per sec (same as Void Ray attack) / Attk Range: 4, 8 /

Ability: Burrow/Burrow Move, Spawn Broodling, Ensnare (same as Old Queen), Psionic Storm (same as Templar's but double the damage)


	11. Chapter 11

I own nothing that is not original...

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for all the reviews!<strong>

I will answer few questions that you asked.

Q. Why didn't the Overmind let the human army fight the Ork army?

A. There are couple of reasons for this. The first one was mentioned already as being the time difference between the human army and the Ork army. The human army came too early, and because the Ork army was further away, they were not going to meet in time. Secondly, the human army was coming to kill the villagers not the Orks. Thirdly, the human army was too small to effectively fight that Ork army.

Q. What's with all the stats and stuff at the bottom?

A. Sorry about that... I was hoping to give you all a heads up on the general direction of the New Swarm's future evolution.

Q. Will the Zerg units merge like the Protoss Archon?

A. Yes, they will. I decided to call the process 'Mergent' and there will be new units.

Q. Zerg should be a lot more numerous, why are they not?

A. Well, in the game a Hatchery is created in 100 seconds. That is too imbalanced.

Q. You referred to the Cultists.

A. Yes, sorry about that. Until now, they are all Imperial Cultists...

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11<strong>

Sergeant Yalde gasped as the pain in his thighs flared up. The creature that had skewered his legs was dead, but not before it had ran its long claws into his thighs. Yalde had repeatedly fired his laspistol into its head at maximum setting and had successfully blown up the creature's head. However, he was certain to be dead within moments. His laspistol had a single shot left, and the barrel was still glowing from before. Sergeant Yalde knew what he must do. Gulping down that bitter taste around his throat, he raised his laspistol to his right temple.

Pss Pss Pss~

With three sharps sounds, large spines of the Hydralisk tore through Yalde's arm, making him drop the gun. He did not scream. He was too well-trained for that. However, he looked quite afraid as the giant form of the Hydralisk appeared with even larger Queen behind it. Yalde did not know what they were but the creatures were still terrifying.

Yalde quickly remembered back to the short but intense battle that happened just twenty minutes ago.

* * *

><p>The Inquisitor and his men could not escape.<p>

As they turned to leave, there was a frightful scream from all around them, and dozens of Zerg creatures shot out of the ground. They had surrounded the Inquisitor's men.

The humans fired first.

Lasguns blazed their finest and Zerglings went down. However, the lasguns were not powerful enough. The Zerglings launched themselves at the men, and there were simply too many of them. Worse came when two Hydralisks and a Roach joined the battle.

Roach's powerful acid had showered a man, who screamed as his skin began to melt away along with his armor. The second acid shower had finished off that man who was already dead and half-melted. The Hydralisks showed no mercy as they fired their spines at the interlopers to the Hive Cluster.

The Imperial Guards fought back bravely with their lasguns blazing. Yet, one by one, they fell to the Swarm, and as their bodies were torn apart, their eyes saw their comrades in similar situations. The warriors of the Imperial Cult fought a little better against the Zerglings thanks to their sword but their sword could only deflect one or two attacks before the fast moving Zerglings tore them down as well.

It was the Inquisitor and his men who really made a dent against the Zerg.

Their laspistols and swords were finest in the Kingdom save for the Palace Guards who guarded the king. Their lasguns were powerful enough at maximum setting to kill a Zergling outright if it hit the creature on the head. Even one of the Hydralisks fell at four Inquisitorial Troopers shooting at it.

The Inquisitor ran for his life, however.

This was not thought of as dishonorable conduct. The Inquisitor had his duties, and it was up to his Inquisitorial Troopers to help him do it. Sir Ardigan and Captain Barridon knew this as well. Sergeant Yalde, Sir Ardigan and Captain Barridon fought to their bitter end as the Inquisitor fled with two Zerglings behind him.

Captain Barridon had managed to shoot at the Zerglings chasing the Inquisitor and had disabled one, but by turning around to help the Inquisitor, his back was exposed. Four Hydralisk spines tore through his lower back and took out a large chunk of his guts. Then Sir Ardigan fell, his left arm melted by the Roach and his right arm stuck with two Hydralisk spines.

Sergeant Yalde fought harder, but a Zergling had slipped his sight and came up on him. With a single powerful stroke, the Zergling ran its claws through the man's thighs.

* * *

><p>Sergeant Yalde woke up. Everything was dark.<p>

"Where..."

He was alive!

He looked around and found his arms and legs healed. Impossibly healed, in fact, and that disturbed him. Who could have healed him?

He quickly found the answer.

His arm was bound by something hard. He turned his head and saw that all of his limbs were encased in hard material that was so obviously from the creatures he fought. He swallowed hard as he began to understand that the daemon creatures have captured him. Although he didn't understand why they would heal him if they were just going to eat him, but if they were truly daemonic, then he fully expected a long and mind-shattering pain and agony.

He had no idea.

Yalde heard groaning around him and saw Sir Ardigan and Captain Barridon also healed and bound. He had no idea why the creatures wanted them alive but instinctively knew that it was not good for the humans.

"Sir Ardigan?"

"Wha...? Sergeant... Yalde... was it not?"

"Yes, sir."

"Where are we?"

"I do not know... but we are bound and in a dark place... I can barely make you out from right next to you, sir."

"Where are you?"

"To your left, sir."

"Ah..."

Then something else happened.

The space in front of Ardigan opened up to shed blinding light. It was obviously the next morning.

"What? Argh!"

With a short stifled scream, Ardigan was snatched up by large and long claws. Then the opening closed. Yalde waited, and then he heard the screams.

He had no idea that a man could scream like that. Yalde shuddered. Barridon woke up from the sound of screams.

"What's going on? Where am I?"

"Captain Barridon! You are awake."

The space in front of Barridon opened up.

"Hey... what?"

Ardigan's screams were bolstered by Barridon's screams.

Yalde shuddered even more.

* * *

><p>I was displeased. I had missed the pesky Inquisitor by seconds. He rode away, only with minor cuts. It was a major fail by my Zergling. The Inquisitor was a good shot and he managed to break one of the Zergling's front legs, making it fall and tumble. I had hoped to capture him alive and exact a slow and painful revenge upon him. This was no longer the case, and now he had escaped with the new of my Hive Cluster and the army of 'daemonic creatures'.<p>

Now I had to change my plans. I had captured the leaders of the remaining troops and healed them. I healed them so as to keep them alive long enough to extract information. I made temporary holding cell, squeezing them between bones and carapace. Then one by one, I used the Neural Parasite of the Infester and the Queen to extract information directly from their brains. They need not talk, as the specially modified Neural Parasite simply sucked all knowledge from their brains in useful format.

While I was sucking out the brains of the three captured humans, my Overlords brought the bodies of Volran, Hargen and Elric. They were only dead recently, and I could do a few things to help Alena, particularly since she was dying as well.

I was not really willing to let her die but it was not my choice. I saw her suspended inside a jelly of healing enzymes, but it only made her survive. It was like life support system for humans, but a Zerg would not need such thing. The problem was that it was all that I could do to maintain her brain. With some regret, I had an Infester reach out with the Neural Parasite.

* * *

><p>'What? Where am I?'<p>

~Alena.~

'Who is that?'

Her vision cleared and she was standing in a white place. Everything was completely white including where she was standing.

~**I am the Overmind.**~

A man appeared. He dressed strangely. Though she did not know it, it was the form of James, idealized by James himself, and the Overmind had used this self-image to portray himself.

'Who are you?'

~**I am the Overmind... and I was the one who sent Tobias to save you.**~

'Oh... so you are the real owner? I knew he was too tame for a wild animal.'

She did not understand her real situation and her emotion about losing her beloved pet overwhelmed her.

~**No, I do not 'own' him but I did send him to you.**~

'I don't understand.'

~**Do you remember what happened?**~

Alena thought for a moment.

'I... uh... I saw daddy... die.'

Her eyes began to redden again. The Overmind sighed. Then Toby appeared. Alena's eyes twinkled with glee.

'Toby!'

'Mistress!'

Alena paused at the boyish voice from Toby.

'Did you just speak?'

'Yes, mistress.'

~**Alena.**~

Alena turned back to the Overmind.

~**Listen to me carefully.**~

'Okay...'

~**The bad men had shot you, and you are dying.**~

Alena's face looked scared. The Overmind was obviously not really good with breaking the bad news.

~**I can save you, Alena, but you must understand that you will be different.**~

'Different?'

~**If I save you, you will be different. You will not be human any more.**~

'I do not understand.'

~**I know, so I have prepared something for you.**~

Image of Volran, Hargen and Elric appeared.

'Daddy!'

'Alena? How? I thought I died.'

~**You did. Now, listen to me carefully...**~

Hours later, the Swarm suddenly went into hibernation. The Drones still worked but almost all buildings except for the Spine and Spore Crawlers became encased in cocoons. New Zerglings, Roaches and Hydralisks were born but they quickly burrowed themselves nearby.

The Swarm was preparing.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Far north - Techpriest Directorate - Tower of Techpriests<strong>_

Enginseer Obran silently worked his way through the data on the screen.

The data was conclusive.

He turned on the short-range vox.

"Techmarine Pelagas, this is Enginseer Obran. I have analyzed the data. It is conclusive."

~Then... revive my brothers, Techpriest.~

"Yes, my lord."

The Enginseer moved toward the sparse rows of glass tubes, each containing a Space Marine in suspended animation.

The Enginseer went past the first tube, heading toward the console in the middle of the room. He did not see that the inhabitant of the first tube had opened his eyes, and his eyes burned with blue flames of the Warp.


	12. Chapter 12

I own nothing that is not original...

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for all the reviews!<strong>

So, we have 5 Space Marines, 9 Renegade Space Marines with possible Chaos conversion on the horizon...

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12<strong>

"Welcome back, my lord Sergeant Judanus."

Enginseer Obran greeted the giant Space Marine Tactical Marine Sergeant.

Clad in giant power armor with six Purity Seals around his right pauldron and gold decorated left pauldron, the Sergeant was a powerful man of fearsome reputation.

He had been entombed in this life support tube created by the Enginseer and Techmarine Pelagas 572 years ago along with his armor and weapons. It was a necessary act despite the voice of opposition from Judanus and few of his squad members.

They were the 'Hands of Sorrow' Space Marine Chapter, a codex chapter of Imperial Fist origin. They were builders of great defenses and warriors of no mercy. In 720.M41, the Hands of Sorrow had sent its 5th Company to Adrantis after their stalwart defense of Oron Subsector from a warband of Iron Warriors. The 5th Company had fought hard but had lost their Strike Cruiser. Without a suitable vessel nearby, they were forced to hitch a ride with the ship patrolling the region, which was swallowed up by the Warp Storm.

Sergeant Judanus stepped out of his tube, and looked around. No one had yet come out. He turned to his own tube, as if to see the 'prison' that held him for more than five centuries. He looked down and found his plasma pistol and chainsword. After activating the chainsword in his right hand, he found it in perfect working order.

Obran spoke.

"All your weapons are perfect condition, my lord."

Judanus nodded.

"Very good, Enginseer. Tell me, how long have we been entombed here?"

"This would be 572nd year of your hibernation."

Judanus narrowed his eyes as he continued to stare at his tube.

"Tell me... Am I the first one out?"

"Yes, my lord. Although your brothers are now awake and conscious, I still need to disengage..."

Enginseer could not finish his sentence.

Brrrrrrrr! Kraaak!

With a single, almost lazy motion, Judanus swung his chainsword and cut down the Techpriest. Some blood and plenty of broken machine parts rolled across the floor.

Judanus smiled as he slowly strolled down the corridor. He reached the console, and tapped several buttons. Of the 15 tubes, 9 of them opened up, releasing the Space Marines within.

They all carried their weapons, and their yellow and red armor gleamed. Judanus smiled.

"All of you have heard my voices in your sleep, brothers. All nine of you have agreed with me that this is not what we were meant to be doing. We are Space Marines! We were meant for war unending, and yet we are stuck on this forsake planet for nearly six hundred years!"

He looked around, and they were nodding.

"Brothers! Not only are we stuck back in time, we are stuck deep within a planet entirely consumed by a Warp Storm. We have been here six hundred years, and yet no one has come to take us back! This must not be!"

He pointed his chainsword at one of the unopened tubes where a helmetless Tactical Marine Sergeant had opened his eyes and was staring at Judanus with hate-filled eyes. Judanus grinned.

"We shall once again return to the life we know. We shall venture forth and take this world for ourselves. We shall forge a planet that we can be proud of! Witness the beginning of our work! Witness the demise of the weakling who dared to entomb us!"

Judanus pointed his plasma pistol at the sergeant inside the tube.

"Veteran Sergeant Kharan, I hereby declare you a heretic, and execute you!"

Fizz! Fizz! Fizz! Fizz! Fizz!

Five bolts of hot plasma were fired at Kharan's head, melting through the tube and killing the sergeant.

Then...

Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka!

The sound of bolter fire rang across the corridor and a Devastator Marine, carrying plasma cannon, was struck down by that attack.

Judanus turned around to see Techmarine aiming his Master-Crafted bolter at the others.

"Pelagas, another one responsible for our imprisonment!"

Pelagas roared.

"How dare you, traitor! It was the only choice!"

Judanus chuckled.

"You must realize that you cannot defeat us. You are alone, we are many."

"What you have not realized is that I am still functioning."

The voice startled everyone. Enginseer Obran was still alive. Though his torso had been thrown to the ground, he was still alive and speaking. Then he pressed a button on a device in his hand. With a flash and leaving behind acrid smell of ozone, all of the unopened tubes and Techmarine Pelagas were teleported away.

* * *

><p>Realizing what just happened, Judanus walked up to the Enginseer.<p>

"Where did you send them?"

"Not anywhere you can find... traitor!"

With that, the Enginseer opened his other palm, where a frag grenade exploded.

BOOM!

The grenade had shattered the remains of the Enginseer, and Judanus, growled as tiny shrapnel had made his forehead bleed. He narrowed his eyes, and then spat on the head of the dead Techpriest.

"It matters not... My grand design will still work."

* * *

><p>Techmarine Pelagas shook his head as he attempted to regain his balance. The unprepared teleportation shook him hard. More than that, it was the betrayal of his brothers that really hurt him inside. He stood up, his armor creaking and groaning under the sheer weight.<p>

The Techmarine looked around and found a console next to the set of slots were the tubes were. There were missing tubes, and he immediately realized that only the unopened tubes were teleported.

"I thank you in the name of the God Emperor, Enginseer Obran."

Pelagas quickly opened the tubes of the loyalists.

One by one, they stepped out from their tubes, and they were enraged.

"How could this have happened!"

The loudest was the Tactical Marine Giadus, the second in command to Sergeant Kharan. His eyes were burning with rage so familiar to them. Then others came about.

Brother Tactical Marine Eblas, also of Squad Kharan, knelt before the tube of Sergeant Kharan where the sergeant's head had been turned to ashes. Eblas silently recited prayers.

Assault Marine Kleine came out next shaking his head at the unbelievable betrayal by the fellow brothers. He despaired as he looked around at the empty slots.

The last one to exit his tube was Veteran Assault Marine Sergeant Armanus with his power sword and plasma pistol. Both of his pauldron were decorated with gold carvings and his chest bore an impressive eight Purity Seals, and his left leg was also decorated and with an Imperial Laurel at that.

* * *

><p>At the appearance of this old and wise leader, a man who was third in command of the 5th Company, the rest of the surviving loyalists gathered.<p>

The mood was solemn indeed. Armanus sighed and looked around him. He only saw faces of disbelief and despair. The veteran of nearly 500 years and over a thousand battles throughout well over a hundred campaigns, Veteran Assault Marine Sergeant Armanus was a highly respected champion of the chapter, not only within the 5th Company but from other part of the chapter as well.

Though he looked more like a normal human in his fifties, the grisly scars and deep lines belied the wisdom and determination that allowed this champion of the Emperor to survive and thrive. They all looked to him now as their darkest hour loomed over them.

Armanus touched the broken tube of Sergeant Kharan.

"Oh... Kharan, my brother... What have they done to you... You have fought with me for nearly two hundred years! Together we joined the First Company! Together we crushed the Prime Sorcerer of the Varagrin IV! Your bolter and my sword never missed a beat! I will avenge you, brother... We, the survivors of this most foul and treasonous attack, swear vengeance."

Others intoned.

"Aye..."

Armanus turned to them.

"I see faces filled with despair."

Klein buried his face in his hands, and unable to hide it, he tried to put his helmet back on. Armanus stopped him.

"I know despair, brothers! I have felt it a dozen times in my life of service. What I can tell you is that despair is worthless emotion. We are Space Marines! We know no fear! Despair, is the worst kind of cowardice, brothers! It is fear without the courage and honor to stand against it. I will not have it! You will not have it!

We have just witnessed the result of weakness. We have just witnessed how a moment of weakness turned to despair and how that has turned our once-brothers into traitors. Yet, it is their failure, and our success. They have fallen to despair but you have not!

Your faith has kept you strong! Your faith has kept you righteous! Your faith has defeated despair again and again. You faith has given you the patience in the most dreary circumstances. We have been stuck on world for many centuries as the Warp Storm continues unabated. They failed as Space Marines, but you have not!

This is nothing! This wait is nothing! As a young Tactical Marine, I once spent six months on Planet Irrakratus VI, a frozen world of hell with thousands of daemons and Chaos Marines swarming all over the planet. My company had crash landed as our Strike Cruiser was struck down by an overwhelming enemy fleet. I was alone. I was out of ammo. I did not have a melee weapon with me.

I endured. So can you!

ARE WE NOT the Space Marines? ARE WE NOT the Emperor's Finest? ARE WE NOT the bravest, the most honorable, the most stalwart defenders of mankind?

Yes, we ARE! WE ARE THE SPACE MARINES, AND WE SHALL DRIVE THESE TRAITORS TO THE MAW OF WARP ITSELF!

PRAISE THE GOD EMPEROR! PRAISE DORN! PRAISE YOUR FAITH!"

The words have inspired his fellow marines. They felt, from the depth of their hearts, the rising anger against their fallen brothers, and a sliver of pride at not joining the ranks of the fallen.

Pelagas answered first.

"We shall not rest until we have utterly driven out the traitors from world and from this life!"

"Well spoke, brother Techmarine! We shall not rest until we have vengeance!"

* * *

><p>The marines took some time to calm down. However, when they have done so, Armanus called them together to prepare for their next move. He turned to Pelagas first.<p>

"Techmarine, it appears that you were awake even before Judanus. Hopefully, you would have some information that we need. Firstly, where are we?"

"We are in the Bastion, Brother Sergeant. This is a secret underground facility that the Enginseer Obran and I have built about fifty years after everyone had gone into suspended animation. We had built this facility in case our 'Tower' was assailed by the 'Kingdom' before we could awake you."

Eblas looked puzzled.

"Kingdom? What is this 'Kingdom'?"

Pelagas sighed.

"Allow me to fill you in on all that happened."

Other nodded.

"As you remember, we arrived above this planet almost 595 years ago after over a decade within the Warp. We also found that we have arrived back in the past, around 600.M41. We also had spent next 11 years conquering the locals, then another 12 years forcing back the Ork forces that grew from the spores on the fallen fragments of our ship. As we did not have a psyker with us, our communication technology could not pierce the Warp. In order to keep you all alive until the Warp Storm cleared or the local population produced powerful enough psyker, we put you all in suspended animation.

Much has happened since your sleep. About a decade since the establishment of Imperial rule over the planet, the Captain of the ship declared himself the King of the Kingdom of Imperium, a direct Imperial representative of the Imperium and the God Emperor."

"Heresy?"

"Not quite. He informed us that it was better to maintain a feudal system in order to maintain any semblance of Imperial rule. Obran and I did not care. We were still busy fortifying our Tower. We made a deal with him instead. They would supply us with raw materials and we would produce small number of technologies that they could not make, such as lasguns, laspistols, and a couple of downgraded power swords. The minor domain we first established quickly grew into a prosperous feudal kingdom with an Imperial Cult and an Inquisition.

They did attempt to emulate the Imperium. We grew concerned that this Kingdom may assail the Tower for the technology, so we built this secret Bastion to safeguard our more precious technologies, including the some of our Company's remaining armored vehicles. Also, we prepared a pre-designated teleportation coordinates in case we needed to evacuate you all."

Armanus nodded.

"I guess you never expected this."


	13. Chapter 13

I own nothing that is not original...

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><p><strong>Thanks for all the reviews!<strong>

Hmm... I was surprised by the lack of reviews for the last chapter... I thought people greatly enjoyed Space Marines and Chaos Marines...  
>Well, we are going back to the Overmind from the next chapter.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 13<strong>

Judanus seethed in boiling anger. He slammed the large desk with piles of datapads and thick bunches of papers from Obran's archives.

The door opened and the Tactical Marine Istus entered. Istus had fought alongside Judanus for over a hundred years, and was his second in command. Judanus turned to Istus.

"Have you found it?"

Istus shook his head. Judanus slammed the table once again and growled.

"We have been searching this pile of worthless information for three whole days, yet we have not even found a trace of where Obran may have sent our 'brothers'."

Istus spoke, his artificial voice box creating oddly grating sound.

"It is apparent that we would not find the information here."

"Indeed, brother."

"Have you found more information on this planet's current situation?"

Judanus smiled as he nodded.

"Yes, I have. It appears that Obran has kept a meticulous record of everything he could find out."

"And?"

"The surrounding area belongs to the 'Duke of Garav', and he is the second most powerful warlord of this world. He commands an impressive army as well as certain number of 'Imperial Guards' armed with lasguns."

Istus narrowed his eyes.

"If he has armored vehicles, we must utilize our own... despite the missing ones."

Judanus growled once more.

"Pelagas and Obran must have moved some of those vehicles as well. However, we still control the Predator while our loyalist brothers only have the Razorback."

"In any case, we must prepare the Predator for mobilization."

Judanus shook his head.

"There is no need. This Duke of Garav has no armored vehicles and his Imperial Guards only number around six hundred. A simple visit to his capital would suffice. Meanwhile, we should continue to raid the edges of his realm to put him off guard. With the King of this 'Kingdom' hostile to the Duke, he would not dare move against us before we are ready."

Istus nodded. Judanus stood up and headed to the window. Without turning his head, Judanus asked Istus.

"Tell me, Istus. How is it going with the slaves and Servitors?"

"We have found the a dozen small villages around the Tower and have asserted our dominion over them. Even now we are bringing in the villagers to use as slaves. As for the Servitors, we have nearly twenty Technical Servitors and ten Gun Servitors. I had the Technical Servitors to start converting some of the slaves into more Gun and Combat Servitors."

"Excellent! We may need them. Now, go and inform our brothers that I wish to finally reveal our exact plan to dominate this world. I shall meet with them in the Observation Room on the top floor of this Tower."

"Yes, brother Sergeant."

* * *

><p>After Istus had left, Judanus headed back to the hibernation chamber and found his own tube that had kept him alive for 572 years. He closed the tube's door and chuckled. Then he spoke to the tube.<p>

"Well, it appears that I will have enough sacrifice after all."

Like a ghost, a face appeared inside the glass window of the hibernation tube. It was a horrible face. It had the skin of a child's face stretched over its large head, barely hiding the massive horns and twisted formations. Its sharp teeth had carvings of people's faces, indicating the souls that the creature had consumed over the years. It spoke, with long and nimble tongue flickering in and out like that of a snake.

~Excellent, Judanus! You shall be richly rewarded! You could make a fine Champion of Chaos yet.~

Judanus growled as he touched the tube with his fist. At that forceful impact, the daemon cringed as if it was afraid that Judanus might break the glass.

"Do not forget our bargain, daemon. I free you, and you grant me the powers of Chaos!"

~Of course, Judanus... Future Lord of Chaos, a Champion of the Dark Gods, the Exulted Betrayer, the Disciple of Deceit!~

Judanus smiled.

* * *

><p>The nine renegade Space Marines gathered together in the circular room in the highest level of the Tower. They all stood before a giant round table. The table was equipped with holographic projection system that allowed the occupant to see all the land around the Tower. This was the tactical command centre if the Tower was ever attacked.<p>

Judanus looked around him. To his right was Istus, ever his right hand man. To his left was Devastator Sergeant Ortan, his close supporter and a fine candidate for a Khorne Beserker if Judanus was ever looking to make him. Across the table were Tactical Marines Haldein, Vegarius, Themas, Giravim, all members of Judanus' squad. There also were Assault Marine Atrim and Caraith, of Assault Squad Irafim, a fine team that was devastated during a fight against Bloodletters aboard the Imperial vessel.

Judanus looked at them with seemingly great pride. However, his words were not what they were expecting.

"I shall reveal to you now, my plans for dominating this world."

They did not notice the nuance of the word 'my plans'.

"In my long sleep within my hibernation tube, I have communicated with a daemon."

The fellow marines looked surprised, even Istus.

"It is a daemon of Tzeentch. It has taught me much, brothers. It has taught me spells that I can weave. It has taught me powers of Chaos. Also, it has taught me the ways of deceit."

Suddenly, reinforced doors and shutters locked up the room. Normally it would be a precaution against enemy attack, but it did lock everyone in. Assault Marine Atrim roared.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Judanus chuckled.

"This means that you are ready to be sacrificed to the Ruinous Powers, my 'BROTHERS'!"

The Space Marines exploded in uproar. They immediately headed toward the walls and attempted to break free, but their attacks were useless as the blue flames of the Warpfire engulfed the edges of the room. Istus looked at others' attempts and drew his chainsword. With the blades of the chainsword whirring at high speed, the Tactical Marine growled at his Sergeant.

"Release us, betrayer."

Judanus merely chuckled.

"I am afraid that I cannot release you, brother Istus."

Istus answered calmly.

"Then die!"

He drove the chainsword into Judanus' neck. Istus was surprised to find his weapon go right through the ghost-like apparition. Judanus sneered.

~I am not in the room, I'm afraid.~

He looked around at those he betrayed.

~Good bye!~

With his projection gone, the floor began to spew out the pyres of Warp. Located on the top of the Tower, the chamber had drawn the enormous power the Warp Storm that had engulfed the whole solar system. The planet was in the heart of the storm, making it marginally normal-looking, but with a little secret sacrifices of slaves, Judanus funneled the raw Warp powers of the storm into that room, making his sacrifice shine like a beacon to the Warp Gods.

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><p>Judanus sighed with pleasure as he heard his former comrades scream. He took the elevator and went to the roof where his hibernation tube awaited him. There were 9 men, 9 women, 9 boys and 9 girls. They were the slaves, or the serfs to the Tower that the Space Marines turned into slaves. They shuddered in their cold iron shackles.<p>

Judanus hummed lightly as he grabbed each slave and chanted for 9 minutes, and slowly cut their throat with a knife over 9 seconds. 9 was the sacred number of the Chaos God Tzeentch, and this sacrifice would please the Chaos God of Deceit, Ambition, Plots and Schemes and of Betrayal.

"Hear my plea, Prince of Deceit!"

When all slaves have been sacrificed, Judanus approached his hibernation tube. The daemon inside delighted in the murders, and was almost dancing about.

~Yes! Yes! Now, break the tube with you bare fist!~

Judanus sneered but made no move to take off his gauntlet.

~What are you doing, Judanus?~

The traitor Marine Sergeant chuckled with malice in his eyes.

"Tell me, daemon... Why should I not wear my gauntlet?"

~What?~

"I asked around... I made a few small sacrifices and summoned some... wiser daemon."

~WHAT!~

"It appears that you have been trying to deceive me."

~Now, listen here!~

Judanus growled.

"I have no more need to listen to you, deceiver. You have taught me well in the art of deception and betrayal. I just knew that you would double-cross me. Trying to possess me? If I didn't ask around, then I would not have known that whatever breaks that tube first would be possessed by you. Such a pity."

~You misunderstood. Whoever you asked, it has deceived you.~

"Well, I asked this particular daemon... another deceiver like you, and I take everything it has said with certain skepticism, but I think I will take a leap of faith on this particular matter."

~Who did you ask?~

"I had to confirm it through three other daemons, but I really confirmed that the Ten-Eyed Tyrant is your archenemy, and the one who goaded into invading our ship."

~YOU!~

Judanus drew a sword from his back. It was a Force Sword, used by the Space Marine Librarians or the Chaos Marine Sorcerers.

"I hear that only a psyker can use this... Ah, well..."

Then Judanus began to chant. His words began to reverberate through the air. The Warp trembled at the words. Judanus need not be a psyker to invoke this spell, particularly not when his Space Marine sacrifice was burning right beneath him and focusing the power of the Warp Storm into his location. Energy gathered around the blade. The daemon was panicking.

~NO! NO! Impossible! I cannot be deceived by a mere mortal! I am a DAEMON!~

With only a sneer, Judanus flung the Force Sword at the tube. With the sound of glass breaking, there was a great shriek as the daemon screamed during the painful extraction. Encased with the energy of the spell, the daemon was sucked into the sword, and trapped there.

The turmoil ended.

Judanus smiled and grabbed the sword. It looked different now. It used be a clean blade, honored and cherished by the Librarians of the Chapter. Now, it was a horrible thing. Twisted and daemonized.

It was long. Around 1.5m in length, the two blades had twisted in the middle, making a helix. The blades themselves formed ever-shifting teeth that constantly changed. Between the blades, powerful psychic energy pulsed, belching out blue and red flames that coursed through the entirety of the blade. The handle was also twisted now. The rain guard was now a twisted face of a skull, while the pommel featured an eyeball sheathed in blue flames. The cross-guard was now made of daemonic bones, and the grip featured suckers like the tentacles of an octopus.

Judanus whispered into the sword.

"Now, I have all the powers of a Chaos Sorcerer as long as I carry you around, daemon, and you are voiceless ghost."

* * *

><p>'Hmm? Something... happened... north... I wonder what it is...'<p>

I briefly woke from my deep meditation. Something stirred in the far north, but its impact, whatever it was, was impressive enough to alert me.

'Powerful psionic pulse... screams of scores of... people... Something terrible has happened.'

However, that was not my concern as yet. I turned my attention back to the large structure being mutated in the depth of the mining shafts. I had the drones carve out a secure underground chamber big enough to accommodate a Hive.

Inside the structure were Alena, Elric, Hargen and Volran, all suspended in healing enzyme, and their bodies slowly mutating into a Zerg/Human Hydrid while the mind lived a long and prosperous life within the mental construct of my creation.

Alena would learn all she needed to avenge those who fell, and she would also have enjoyed a good life in that dream world without hunger or pain. I mentally smiled as I resumed my work. When I am done, there will be a reckoning!


	14. Chapter 14

I own nothing that is not original...

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><p><strong>Thanks for all the reviews!<strong>

Well, this chapter reveals something about the four of five main factions that will fight over the planet.

Also, we get back to the Zerg and the Overmind. I hear that you all like the Zerg.

*** I am planning to give Alena a special sword and a whip. Can you help me name them? So far, I've come up with Psi/Bone Blade & Whip of Acid and Fire... I want a weapon that could be remembered.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 14<strong>

"Pardia, you look terrible!"

The man stood up from his ornate chair as Inquisitor Pardia entered, beleaguered from the three week travel from the south.

"Lord High Inquisitor... I have grave news."

The High Inquisitor, the lord commander and the leader of the King's Inquisition, was an elderly man. He still looked strong with hard lines around his face and bulky muscles still visible through the black clothes he wore.

"Come! Take a seat, and tell me of your mission to the south."

Pardia nodded.

"There is an infestation of daemons! Terrible and beastly creatures have formed a nest for their kind, and they spread darkness on the ground that consumes the trees."

The High Inquisitor frowned.

"Were there many of them?"

"We only saw a couple of dozens and their nest seemed to be new, but..."

The High Inquisitor narrowed his eyes.

"Hmm... This is not good news."

Pardia cleared his throat with a glass of wine.

"My lord, you must alert the King."

"What?"

"He must raise an army and purge these creatures and their nest."

The High Inquisitor shook his head.

"That may not be so feasible at the moment, Pardia."

"My Lord?"

"You know of the silent conflict between the King and the young Duke of Garav. The Kingdom is divided, and the King cannot muster all the might of the Kingdom for an unsubstantiated threat so far south. The best we can do is to clear out the region and drive the Orks against these daemons."

Pardia could not believe his ears.

"My lord, I lost all my men, and the men provided by the King and the Imperial Cult. Their souls would weep at this... lack of vengeance!"

The High Inquisitor narrowed his eyes.

"Calm down, young Inquisitor. Know your place. The King has much on his plate now. Perhaps we can muster a few thousand men from the south..."

"The south is fragmented and its petty nobles will not join forces."

"That is not your concern, Pardia. Now, go back to your room. I shall send for you."

"Yes, my lord."

* * *

><p>The mountains were steep and rocky. The valleys were deep but wide enough to have plenty of pasture and farmland. There were dozens of houses in a village protected by thick wooden palisade covered in dried clay. It was like the last ten they saw as they passed through the mountains.<p>

The mountains were smaller as they went westward and larger villages appeared. Then they saw a small walled town, and eventually, they saw a large structure far to the west. It was big enough to be noticed through the clear daylight. A normal human may not see it, but the Space Marines could see it clearly.

Armanus put his helmet back on to take a better look through the zoom function.

"Is that the castle you mentioned, Pelagas?"

"Yes, brother. It is the capital and the castle of the Duke of Verin... if his line still exists."

"Verin... wasn't that the name of the Head of Arms aboard that vessel?"

The Techmarine nodded.

"Yes, he was the Chief Security Officer of the vessel and had commanded the vessel's serf-soldiers against the daemons and Orks."

Aramanus took off his helmet again and chuckled.

"So, he made 'Duke.' I don't remember him such an ambitious fellow."

Others chuckled too. Giadus spoke.

"Are you sure that they would support us? We have not been around for nearly 600 years. They are quite likely to attack us on sight."

Pelagas shook his head.

"No, I do not believe that he would. In fact, I believe that they would assist us against the traitors. From what I got from Obran, he maintained good relations with the Duchy, and they would have quite a large stockpile of lasguns at their disposal."

Armanus nodded.

"Well, I do hope that this is worth a week of walking."

"I hope so too, brother Sergeant."

* * *

><p>Judanus chanted a spell coaxed from the memories within his daemon sword. Energies of the Warp flitted around inside the Observation Room. The room where his comrades were sacrificed had become the focus of his dark magics. Every eight hours, Judanus shoved eight slaves into the room, further fueling the Warpfire that began to slowly melt the barrier between the reality and the Warp.<p>

This particular spell was his first step into recruiting some minions. He had already removed the gene-seeds of his fallen brothers and had thrown in what vials of gene-seeds he could find in the vaults under the Tower. The gene-seeds were cooking nicely with the corrupting power of the Warp while being bound to the daemon sword so that those created from the gene-seed could not betray him.

However, Judanus needed some servants to do his bidding. I summoned back the souls of his dead comrades, enraged but no longer sentient as the daemons consumed most of their souls. He shoved these souls back into their power armors, coating the skeletons with the thick flames of the Warp. Judanus, through harnessing the power of the Warp Storm, had made his own version of Rubric Marines, though not the same.

These new and strange Rubric Marines were more intelligent but equally as obedient. Although bound not to Judanus but to the sword that allowed him to cast spells, they made an excellent Chaos Marines. Their armors have already been altered, with the Warp twisting the very materials of the power armors. Horns, thorns and strange scales had sprouted from the armors as they began to walk out of the chamber.

"Excellent, brothers. Now that I have some bodyguards worthy of me, I think it is finally the time to coax a really helpful Hand."

Chuckling at his own pun that no one heard or could understand, he once again lifted his daemon sword.

"I summon you! I know you are out there!"

With another eight slaves sacrificed, a portal formed within the Warp Vault of Judanus. From that portal, a Space Marine in white came out slowly. He was wearing all the colors and equipments of an Apothecary. His pauldron showed the Hands of Sorrow colors but in a close inspection, the armors were already beginning to mutate. Bronze had covered some bits.

"Welcome back, brother Apothecary Lilgath. How was your time in the Warp?"

"Short and violent... just as I like it."

Apothecary Lilgath had been lost to the Warp during the decade of battles aboard the vessel.

Judanus chuckled.

"Who would have thought that you would fall in line with the servants of Khorne."

The corrupted Apothecary growled.

"Who would have thought that a mewling, whining boy like you would become a Chaos Lord?"

Judanus roared and pointed his daemon sword, named Ga'huld after the daemon trapped inside it, at the Apothecary.

"DO NOT FORGET that I have coaxed you out of the Warp, and I am perfectly willing to put you back into it... in pieces..."

Apothecary paused, and then bowed his head.

"As you wish, LORD Judanus."

Only then, Judanus sheathed his sword.

"We have much work to do, Lilgath. I have an _appointment_ with the Duke of Garav, so I will momentarily leave you in charge here."

"What must I do, my _lord_?"

Judanus growled at the mocking tone.

"Do not take that tone with me, unless you wish to feel my blade."

Then he turned to leave, taking his 'Rubric' Marines with him. Just as he got aboard the elevator, he commanded Lilgath.

"In exactly 7 hours 41 minutes, you shall take eight of the slaves crowded within the inner walls of the Tower and feed them to my Warp Vault. I wish the Warp Vault to be fed every eight hours."

"As you command."

* * *

><p>'How long has it been?'<p>

I am always aware but the things felt as if they moved slowly when I focused most of my mental powers to the work.

'Three weeks? No... almost... six weeks?'

I was surprised at the length of my slumber and the lack of any alarming moves by the humans, or the Orks.

'What has been going on around here?'

I stretched out my mind and renewed my unbreakable connection to my Overlords and Overseers. They have been slowly spreading all over the planet and increased my knowledge of the world.

It appeared that I was mistake in my first impression of this world. I found that much from the captured prisoners before I melted them down in the Nutrient Pit, but this was much larger. The Kingdom of the humans was large, stretching across most of this continent except for the large segment to the North West that made up about one sixth of the total continental landmass.

From the few Overlords and Overseers there as well as from the minds of the prisoners, I found that land to be called as the Northern Alliance, where the surviving collection of local rulers formed a united front against the Kingdom for nearly four hundred years. The Kingdom itself was barely six hundred years old, and it had captured the major part of the continent only three hundred fifty years ago.

I also found about the how and why there were so many lasguns around, particularly around the big castles. I found out about the duchies and baronies and other human divisions of land. I also learned of their primitive feudal social hierarchy. Also, I quickly understood why there was no army formed against me just yet.

The King has been in silent and quiet conflict with the Duchy of Garav in the north east, bordering the tundra where violent Orks lived and raided the Kingdom's borders. To fight the Orks, the Duke of Garav had traditionally been given significant leeway in terms of tributes to the King. After a while, the Duchy of Garav became powerful enough to absorbed many lesser domains, sometimes without the King's permission. Now, the young Duke, succeeding his father only ten years ago, had great ambition and was preparing to challenge the King in a great rebellion.

The King, of course, was also preparing to assail to North and put the impudent Duke to his rightful place as the fence against the Northern Orks. With such large conflict on the horizon, the King was unwilling to spend a fortune to gather a proper army to fight a 'supposed' daemonic incursion in the extreme South, which was not valuable to the King. The South was poor. Its last duke had died over thirty years ago, and the South has been divided and split into dozens of tiny baronies and earldoms and an occasional counties. With each tiny landlord unwilling to assist each other in almost anything, and with the land so divided and the tiny squabbles draining the wealth of the South, it was useless to the King.

Of course, the King was not abandoning the South at all. He just could not afford a professional army to deal with my Zergs. Instead he sent one of his generals, the Count of Rilemas who was also the High Marshall of King's Armies. A dedicated supporter of the king, and controlling a land the size of Texas, he was commanded to South and marshal an army to find and destroy the daemonic infestation, which was my Swarm. The High Marshall hadn't actually departed his County as yet. According to a Changeling, the Count had opened his treasury, and also with some of the money the King sent, to hire new professional soldiers when he came down here.

Although there was no real army formed against me yet, I was not unprepared. Over the last six weeks, my Hive Clusters have been on automated mode, pumping out Zerglings, Roaches, Hydralisks, Mutalisks and a few Ultralisks. Overlords have been covering the skies, dotting the blue heavens with their massive bodies while the ground has been covered in Creep with Zerglings hidden under it.

At the moment of my awakening, all productions had stopped, and by my calculation, I had just around 11,700 Zerglings, pumped out from 14 dedicated Hatcheries with Queens continuously spraying the spawning hormones. In six weeks, I had spawned over ten thousand Zerglings. Although this is a significant number to a minor human colony like this planet, knowing the possible scales of wars around this galaxy, it was right choice to force my own evolution.

I also had commissioned extra Hatcheries, Lairs and Hives along with more of every building, trying to prepare for any eventualities. This had allowed me to now have 26 Hatcheries, 15 Lairs and 9 Hives. More than that, my very first Hatchery had grown to even bigger Hive than normal. However, it was not quite complete in my view, particularly since my deep meditation into the genetic knowledge of the Zerg. From the depth of the former Overmind's genetic memories, I found all that I needed. I found all the secrets that the Zerg's hidden Xel'naga master had hidden inside.

Mentally smiling, I gave the order.

'Initiate Merging! All Spine Crawlers, head to your nearest Hatchery, Lair or Hive and begin merging as I command!'


	15. Chapter 15

I own nothing that is not original...

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><p><strong>Thanks for all the 'constructive' reviews!<strong>

**_Firstly,_** when I meant 'sword' and 'whip' I was thinking about bone blade that came out from her arm or hand, and the whip would be quite like the Spine Crawler's stuff... Thanks anyway!

_**Secondly**_, as a response to one of my readers: Zealot - I am sorry that you wanted read just about the Zerg. That's not going to happen. Although the Zerg is the main focus of this story, this story is a crossover between Starcraft AND Warhammer 40K. Also, the Zerg Swarm is a race of species designed and evolved for war. A species dedicated for warfare, perhaps even more so than the Tyranids, since the Zerg do not attack simply to consume the biomatter. In order to highlight these aspects of the Zerg, there needs to be decent opponents. The Feral Orks were just the preludes to proper battles. Also, there is something called 'patience' which you can practice as you read about my attempts to give settings to the opponents of the Zerg.

_**Third,**_ as a response to an absurd review from 'ok' - Below is what he/she has written:

_well it was an interesting idea but youve made the zerg so weak a bakwards_  
><em>nothing human colony is a match for them? Then you throw in the imperial<em>  
><em>marines adn dameons... well it just turned into a bunch of **.. and each<em>  
><em>chapter you explain less and less and just write a bunch of crap your is the<em>  
><em>worst of these types of stories im switching back to the others your not even<em>  
><em>being serious about your own stroy anymore<em>

**Here are my responses:**

1. Zerg is depicted as weak so that I can write how they become stronger.

2. 'Backward human colony' has lasguns and controls most of the continent and has weapons continually supplied over 500 years. Not so easy until Zerg become stronger.

3. The reason I 'throw' in the 'Space Marines' not 'Imperial Marines' is because the local humans are pathetic, as so mentioned.

4. Simply giving explanation is not how you write a narrative. Please, do study some English literature at any level beyond primary school. Things called 'setting', 'character', 'plot' as well as 'changes in POV' are just few of the things involved in writing a narrative.

5. If my story is the worst of 'these(?)' types, then what the hell are you doing on this site reading these types of stories?

6. You have to put an apostrophe in the 'you've', it's spelled 'backward' not 'bakward', and it's spelled 'and' not 'adn'. In Warhammer, they spell it 'daemon' not 'dameon'. Finally, it is spelled 'story' not 'stroy'... but I guess the last one can be a typo.

7. The fact is that while there are many fanfictions in this site, I don't think there are many stories of Starcraft/Warhammer40K where the Zerg is main focus. So, if you found any real good ones, send them my way, because I am looking for them too.

8. 'ok', if you are going to write a review of this quality, then please have a decency to join the site, login, then post the review. If you had done so, I could point you out so that those who actually enjoys reading my stories can see the stupidity of your review.

_**Finally,**_ I decided to take some of your advice and keep Alena innocent a little longer.

Thank you everyone!

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><p><strong>Chapter 15<strong>

The Swarm roared in unison as their Overmind commanded them such power. Indeed, I was much stronger now that I figured out what Overmind and Protoss knew of the Khaydarin crystal. Armed with the knowledge of how to make more crystals and how to use them, I grew stronger. I fed on crystals' residual psionic energy while they fed on the excess mental energy from the Zerg surrounding them. Also, electric power also aided in the physical growth of the crystals, though the psionic energy only grew in correlative ratio of its original psionic energy and the raw energy received.

I had scraped off tiny shards and fed them plenty of mental energy then sent them off to various Hatcheries to be planted deep inside the Hatcheries, where they had the best chance of growing more powerful. As for the Zerg units getting stronger near the crystals, the idea was abandoned as it was too inefficient. Only the original units and their DNA affected by the Xel'naga Artifiact's pulse were so easily affected by the Khaydarin Crystal, possibly because of the nature of Xel'naga technology.

In any case, I had spent six weeks preparing for the next stage of evolution of the Zerg, and it would not only be enough to take over this world, but it would allow me to really become powerful enough to challenge a significant enemies such as Space Marines or large Orks Waaagh!s.

The first type of Zerg to change was the Drones. They were the backbones of the Zerg and they supplied the Hive Cluster with the resources to grow. Normally, they would spend time gathering resources from easy-access sources such as mineral fields or Vespene Gas geysers so conveniently formed around key places. This does not happen in this universe and I need tougher Drones that could gather and deliver resources faster. Thus I tweaked the DNA of the Drones to allow them to morph into MegaDrones. Obviously this was an idea taken from the Terran MULE. Like the MULE, the MegaDrone will gather resources faster, but unlike the MULE, the MegaDrone would have the ability to mine into the ground for mineral resources.

The MegaDrone is designed to excrete two different chemicals. Its saliva is a similar acid to the molecular weakening acid of the Corruptor's Corruption ability, allowing it to chew through the rock and dirt faster even deep underground where bedrocks and compacted earth are blocking their path. Their body gives out secretion of different variety. It is modified ability of the Overlord. Creep-like mucus is oozed out from the body of the MegaDrone, which then hardens around the surface. A MegaDrone can use this to secure the mineshaft from collapsing. Also, its health, carapace, claws and speed are greatly improved compared to a normal Drone. The one issue is that a MegaDrone cannot mutate into structures.

I immediately had a large portion of Drones in deep mining shafts to morph into MegaDrones, as they are an excellent investment.

* * *

><p>The second unit types to get upgrades were the Overlords and the Overseers. The Overseers were the morphed version of Overlords, and I added a new stage to their evolution. I added a little of a Queen's DNA and bit of Mutalisk DNA. With the strange local wasps with three butts already consumed and processed, I was able to give this new stage of Overlord to have two organs that fired Glaive Wurms of the Mutalisks. Of course, it could no longer function like an Overlord or even provide the population 'increase', it was able to generate a powerful psionic field tuned to the Zerg units. I was able to access that psionic field and make the creature a powerful node of my control. It was like having a synapse creature in a Tyranid army.<p>

I decided to call it 'Hiveseer' and would use it as a mobile command node.

In relation to the Overlords and their morphed variety, I also changed and upgraded the Changelings. The original Changeling only could last 150 hours in this universe. However, this had meant that their use as long term spies were impossible. So I upgraded them first. I give them a tiny bit of Roach DNA, particularly the regeneration ability. The new Changeling could not spend up to 300 hours before dying, and it could now use its tiny bone knife to better degree, and it now had almost as much health as a Zergling.

This was obviously not enough for a long term spy. So, I added upgrades to the Changeling. I named it Spyling. A Spyling cost me quite a bit to morph from a mere Changeling, but once morphed, it could live indefinitely like any other Zerg, and added one more abilities to the same ability as the Changeling. I decided to call the ability 'BrainSwap'. Like I did with the prisoners, a Spyling can convert most of its body mass into the chemical that I used on the prisoners. The chemical will melt the target's brain, allowing the Spyling to absorb all its knowledge, then enter the empty skull and take over the body. This was the perfect spy for the Zerg.

These upgrades, I implemented immediately as they were of immediate use and I was able to apply the upgrades without further delay. I had four Overseers to come down to the ground and implanted tiny shards of Khaydarin Crystals in them so that I could turn them into Hiveseers. One of the things that I needed for these new upgrades and evolutions was the Khaydarin Crystal.

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><p>I had absorbed all the knowledge of the Protoss captured by James on Auir. They were mostly civilians, but James was able to capture and extract the information from several Protoss engineers and artisans who have mastered the Protoss technologies. Also, I was able to unlock large portions of the old Overmind's memories. It appeared that the old Overmind's mysterious master had blocked out large parts of its memories, particularly the part about capturing the last Xel'naga fleet and absorbing the once-gods.<p>

From the knowledge gleaned from the Xel'naga, the Overmind was able to influence and create its own Khaydarin Crystals, notably the purple crystal that appears in the mission briefing screen of the Starcraft 1's Zerg missions. That was the Zerg-version, and they were made to serve the Zerg. Although not as powerful as the Protoss-version, which were originally made by the Xel'naga, the Zerg crystals were suited to react better to the Zerg's psionic signature than the original. Of course, I was able to do one better.

I was able to find a way to convert the original Khaydarin Crystals into Zerg crystals. I kept the originals to grow but harvested miniscule shards and turned the shards to be Zerg crystals. In each of the newly reformed Hatcheries or newly made Hatcheries, I planted an original Khydarin Crystal the size of a man's fist. The Hatchery would dig into the ground right beneath it, and create a chamber to contain and grow the crystal. It would shower the crystal with special chemicals while bio-electricity kept pumping the crystal to grow in size while the psionic energy focused at the Hatchery would feed the crystal's psionic needs.

The Hatchery would constantly harvest the exterior of the Khaydarin Crystal, breaking the very exterior into tiny shards and absorbing them. The shards will travel through the special new organ and were planted into the growing Larvae. So, when a Larva comes out now, it would naturally have a tiny Zerg-crystal shard in it, so when it is forced to evolve, I would be able to give psionic powers or upgrades that could not have been possible before. In fact, all the units I have produced before this hibernation were now obsolete. They would not receive the psionic upgrades unless I have them specifically implanted with shards.

The Zerg structures now had shards of crystals as well, since I planted them during the hibernation. In buildings, the crystals would grow large enough to implement my upgrades, and then they would be used in many different roles. Primarily, I was able to provide every building, including Spine Crawlers, with the ability to sense things with greater perception. All my buildings, perhaps with the exception of Nutrient Pit and Extractor, were now detectors, capable to finding any cloaked or hidden enemies. Also, thanks to James and his captured Protoss, I was able to implement a low grade psionic shield.

This shield was still primitive and several generations before the Protoss Plasma Shield. In truth, the Protoss had used this technology before they perfected it into Plasma Shield. It did not provide 100% protection like the Plasma Shield, but it did disperse or block about 50% of all incoming damage, including physical weapons and energy weapons. I left rooms for improvement as I continued my research into forming Plasma Shield through biological means.

Also, my structures were stronger in offensive capabilities as well. Once merging is completed, then my Hatcheries, Lairs and Hives were going to gain the ability to attack. I gave each Hatchery three Spine Crawlers and one Spore Crawler, six Spines and two Spores for the Lair, and nine Spines and three Spores for the Hive. This was not all. The new ability merge different units had allowed me to form new creatures and structures, as well as a chance to improve my Hive Clusters. Spawning Pools gained a Spine Crawler that shoots out from the bottom of the pool while the Hydralisk Den had three Spines to attack with. As for my very first Hatchery, now turned Hive, I turned the whole thing into a super-structure.

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><p>The Omega Hive was going to be my primary residence. It would be like the body of the old Overmind but not as pathetic as that, and I was still going to be able to move to other Zerg units or structures at will. I had eight Drones build Hatcheries right around the Hive then fused all nine structures together. Four of the Hatcheries were entirely absorbed into the Omega Hive, and I later added one of each structure that provided the DNA for offensive creatures. Even if rest of the Hive Clusters were dead, the Omega Hive would be able to pump out units.<p>

Also, the Omega Hive had the ultimate defense for a Zerg structure. Using the DNA of Ultralisk, I covered the whole thing in very thick armored carapace with high metal content. Since it is still organic, the armor would regenerate, and thanks to the added Roach DNA, the regeneration speed would be rather incredible. These layers of armor were complemented by 33 Spine Crawlers and 11 Spore Crawlers. I added extra defenses through adding four Spires instead of one. Actually they were more like Greater Spires, and they had three Corruptors, two Brood Lords, six Mutalisks, two Devourers and one Guardian merged into them.

With these four high towers located on four sides of the Omega Hive, the whole thing was nigh-on-impossible to assail. Any ground forces that even comes within the range would be bombarded with the powerful acid bolts of the Guardian and Broodlings fired at them at great velocity. If they managed to get closer, the Spine Crawlers would shoot out with their deadly attacks while the Mutalisks' Glaive Wurms would spray upon then ground forces. The Glaive Wurms would kill the infantry while the Spine Crawlers would take out the armors. Then considering the Psionic Shields and Carapace Armor in place, the Omega Hive could not be so easily taken from ground combat.

Aerial assault against the Omega Hive would equally be foolish. The longer ranged anti-air attacks of Spore Crawlers would be complemented by the Corruptors attacks and the Corruption ability while the Devourer's attacks would slow the enemy's attacking speed or jam their attack all together. Come any closer or in great numbers, they would be shredded by the Glaive Wurms. Scourges were also back in fashion and swarms of Scourges would shot out from the structure at the attacking aerial assailants.

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><p>With these base defenses being implemented, I relaxed a little and turned my attention to more immediate and more military matters.<p>

However, I needed to check on Alena.

I had long pondered the relationship between Alena and I.

I cannot say that I am in love with her, since she is only 5 years old, I am not human, and that kind of emotion is actually coming from Toby the Zergling. Toby was very smitten with Alena. I believe that some sort of primal social instinct from the Dune Runners that Zerglings have originated from have awakened to a degree. Toby was so strongly attached to Alena, and I was forced to put him in that dream state as well, so that neither would be distressed by the absence of the other.

I, on the other hand, began to see Alena more as a little sister I... or James had... This was a strange yet familiar emotional response from deep within. Apparently, I was going through a sort of puberty myself, since I am only several months old. As my personalities and memories merged, there was a lot of turmoil. At first, the sheer shock of dimensional travel had kept down the inner conflict, but from the first meeting with Alena, my inner conflicts began to surface, eventually making me conflicted and confused.

Eventually, a totally new personality appeared victorious, and that was me. I did not know, but I was only the most prominent of the personalities, therefore being the 'visible' part of the Overmind. However, now I was whole. I still had several human tendencies, thanks to James, but I was as ruthless as Kerrigan and as wise as the Overmind. I was no longer bound by the insatiable will to dominate but I did feel the thirst of conquest and the need to survive. Merged with James' knowledge of this universe, I knew that survival requires victory. I needed to win and wipe out all that was not Zerg, in order to survive.

That was not quite how Alena might see it, though...

* * *

><p>~Good morning, Alena.~<p>

"James!"

Alena was wearing a white one-piece dotted with small pink flowers. I still did not understand why girls liked pink. Pink was such an artificial color, particularly those fluorescent pink on toys and stuff. To the Zerg, a purely biological race, such an artificial thing was abhorrent... if Zerg could comprehend the concept of distaste.

She was in a nice grassy park with a large apple tree with Toby, now with the fully formed mental image as a large Siberian Husky with very sharp and long teeth. Alena seemed to love the plushy furs of Toby, but I knew that for some reason, that Alena actually preferred the coarse and harsh look of a Zergling. Who knew that she had such taste in things?

When I approached, Toby wagged his 'tail', which I thought was funny since a Zergling only used the tail for balance or an occasional attack. I communed with Toby, but I did remove much of my connection with Toby and connected Toby to Alena with strong mental connections. In here, they could speak verbally, but once I am done, they would be able to communicate telepathically in the outside world.

~How are you today, Alena?~

"I'm good, and Toby is good too!"

~Excellent. Did you do your homework?~

Homework was a headache for any kid, and she frowned at the mention of it.

"Uh... I still have some more pages to write..."

I chuckled.

~I will have Doctor Jackson to cut you some slack, if you want.~

She paused, then shook her head.

"No... I will do them tonight. I will finish the homework before Monday."

Well, she was adjusting very fast and well to the artificial world. I assumed the form of James, though more idealized than the original chubby nerd, and I created several characters to educate Alena in the ways of modern Earth education. As I could recall almost every detail from James' life, and had access to entire sets of memories from the people absorbed by the Zerg, it was not so hard to teach her.

I created Daniel Jackson from Stargate SG-1 as one of the teachers. I also showed Alena plenty of science fiction, drawn from the strong memories of James. Entire Stargate SG-1 show was on display. It appeared that James really didn't miss a single episode, and got the DVD set. As I chatted with Alena and picked an apple, always ripe and perfect, for her, I saw three men coming up the low hill in the park.

I turned around.

"Volran, Hargen, Elric... Nice of you to join us."

They bowed their heads. It appeared that habits are not so easily broken.

"My lord."

~Seriously... Stop bowing! I am not your 'lord'. I am the Overmind, and you are my family now.~

"Of course..."

Their habit of bowing to their superiors was annoying. The Zerg Swarm was the ultimate democratic and equal society. The Overmind is the collective hivemind, therefore anything I decide has the majority vote. Very democratic.

I let Alena play with Toby as I took the adults aside.

~Well, have you guys been studying the general tactics and strategies of the Zerg?~

Volran nodded.

"Yes, my... Overmind."

~Good. It is time to begin this war. You all understand that as Zerg, you are now bound to the fate of the Zerg as much as I am.~

"Yes."

~Excellent. The first one to get out of here would be Elric. I know you loathe to leave Alena, but the choice has already been made.~

"I will serve, Overmind."

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><p>That's all for now, folks!<p> 


	16. Chapter 16

I own nothing that is not original...

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><p>War begins... next chapter!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 16<strong>

A large cocoon pulsed as the psionic power flooded it. It was ripe to open and ready to burst. Its membranes were ready to break free the thin veins of nutrients that stubbornly refused to give way.

It pulsed faster now, the psionic energy, the last stage of this cocoon's maturation, was filling it. Then it paused as if it died. Clear mucus began to seep out from the membranes and covered the whole of the cocoon. The mucus hardened and became opaque.

Over the next several hours, the cocoon had become solid and stopped pulsing, though the muted sound of something moving inside could be heard. Then finally, the time of hatching arrived.

Crack! Crack~! Craaack! Flop!

Hard shell pieces fell upon the Creep, and from the steaming soft tissues just inside the shell rose thick miasma of unknown substance. From that green veil of air, something appeared.

Nearly two and half meters in its full height, a humanoid figure appeared stepping over the shell that it broke through. Hard carapace of its feet pressed deep into the Creep, indicative of its immense weight despite the relatively small stature. From the toe to the hips, the legs were certainly humanoid though the slight inclination for digitigrades did feature a little. The legs were totally covered in thick carapace, not like the weak-looking but more maneuverable version of Kerrigan while also designed for tough situations.

The abdominal areas were not neglected either. Separated pieces of carapace were positioned in a way it would provide maximum flexibility while not compromising defense. Of course, the whole area did require greater attention was given to flexibility but it was not exposed. The chest pieces were odd, however. They appeared to be solid plates of carapace but there were tiny symmetric cracks so miniscule that it could not be seen easily. The shoulders were heavily protected, but flexibility was once again a greater agenda than armor protecting the shoulder.

Even neck and the face were covered in plates of carapace, leaving only three eye-holes, with the third eye located vertically just between the eyebrows. The head was protected by what appeared to be a shortened version of Hydralisk's head, but thick fiber-like tentacles similar to Kerrigan's hair appeared beneath the head carapace. The creature also featured another thing that reminded of the Queen of the Blades. It had wing-like limb on his back, and though its roots were thicker and filled with more muscles and the ends were very much like the claws of the Hydralisks.

The creature stretched its body. It looked at its hands and their human-like shape. Then with a little focus, long metallic fingernails stretched forth like claws. The creature's eyes stared at its own fingernails as they began to glow blue with powerful nimbus. The Khaydarin crystal inside the hand pulsed at the psionic energy poured forth from the brain of the creature. The brain itself was designed and adapted to the creation and use of psionic energy to the level of a Protoss Zealot, though the Overmind wanted more. With the finger-claws glowing with elongated nimbus of power, the creature flexed its arms.

Then it looked around itself and found a dozen Zerglings staring at it. The humanoid creature pointed at one of the Zerglings, and that Zergling launched itself at the Infested humanoid. Spinning on the spot, the creature sliced the Zergling in half just as it dodged.

"Impressive, Elric."

The uber-Queen walked up to the creature, now identified as Elric in Zerg form. Elric opened his new mouth to answer, revealing a row of sharp fangs that filled it.

"Thank you, Overmind."

"Any problems?"

Elric moved his body more than cocked his head.

"I am uncertain, but I would need more strength if I would fight a creature like an Ork Nob."

"More strength... I see... How about the agility?"

"This body is agile... nimble but not quite as flexible as a human body... due to the carapace."

The uber-Queen, being a temporary host for the Overmind, mused as she crackled its own claws together.

"I cannot compromise to the defense... I will need to get on it. Now, for the real trial..."

Scores of Zerglings and several Hydralisks and Roaches un-burrowed and launched themselves at Elric, and Elric, without even flinching any of his three eyes, lunged back at the attackers.

The uber-Queen turned as a small swarm of Zerg units assaulted Elric and he fought back with all his might.

"Well, at least the prototype body did look good."

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><p>Months flew by as the various factions readied themselves for war.<p>

The King prepared to fight the rebellious Duke of North and amassed an army of nearly five hundred thousand including ten thousand Imperial Guards armed to the teeth with advanced weapons of the real Imperial Guards, and aided by a single Leman Russ, maintained by the Royal Family. It had been so long since a King had enacted such massive preparation for war.

No longer concerned by the false alarms of the South since no Ork or daemon invasion had appeared in months, the King commanded his loyal nobles to gather to him. Across the vast continent that would easily match the size of Asia, hundreds of nobles rallied to the King, their loyalty equally as strong as the desire to loot the mineral-wealth of the North. Though the West, now mostly under the command of the Space Marine Loyalists, and the South, half of which were embroiled in the tiny wars between the petty nobles, were not participating in the King's demand for troops, the King still firmly controlled the Central and the East, the two most populous and wealthiest of the regions.

Each of the 17 loyalist Dukes, each a mighty ruler of a massive land, brought ten of thousand soldiers with them, and they added to the vast army already assembling across a dozen huge encampments along the border between the East and the North. The population had grown large since the arrival of the Imperials but compared to the size of the land, the population was not really that great. However, the rally of the King had shown that the huge landmass had indeed allowed the human race to prosper, only to be endangered by wars that they themselves create.

As more and more soldiers arrived, the King was getting more and more confident that he would be the winner of this struggle.

* * *

><p>The Duke Garav of North was also preparing for war, but his will was no longer his own. He was but a puppet, literally pulled by the strings. His limbs were skewered with spikes with chains attached to them, and that chain were handing from the ceiling, where a daemon of Tzeentch, bound to the very metal of the chains and spikes screamed gleefully at the torment of the Duke. The Dukedom itself was now overrun by tens of thousands of cultists of Tzeentch, sanctioned by their new lord and master, Judanus the Betrayer.<p>

Judanus had utilized every piece of technology of the Tower. Yet, he was sorely disappointed that the Tower of Techpriests did not contain the large number of deadly weapons he wanted. There were the armor and weapons of his former brothers, all locked deep within the vaults, but other than that, the only major piece of technology was the two large machines that made lasguns/laspistols and low-grade power swords.

Judanus turned to the use of Chaos as a result of this. He armed his new cultists with laspistols and lasguns while creating weapons and armors where bound lesser daemons to utilize their deadly powers. He himself was armed with several of such weapons, and his own weapons were made more powerful once he twisted them with the power of the raw Warp.

His sword, the Ga'huld, was mostly ceremonial now, as it was a useful tool with which he could use psychic powers that he would normally not have. Instead of that daemon sword, he had called forth a cadre of Bloodletters of Khorne, coaxing them with a feast of bloody sacrifice. Even though they were daemons, they could not be as powerful in the heart of Judanus' fortifications. Using Ga'huld, Judanus bound the leader of the Bloodletter cadre into its own Hellblade, turning it into a weapon of greater evil as the Bloodletter and the original daemon inside the blade fight each other in an unending rage and violence. That made the blade to come alive with scorching Warp energy that crackles around its serrated edges.

His armor, too, was made anew with foul powers of the Warp. Trapping nine Horrors of Tzeentch in his own armor, Judanus made the armor's surface to constantly change as they sizzle with Warp-fires or crackle with lightning. He called it the 'Mantle of Ever-Change'. Judanus also armed his automaton bodyguards with large axes where the remaining cadre of Bloodletters were bound, making the pseudo-Rubric Marines to be more powerful and filled with bloodlust.

Judanus was also confident in his victory. He knew that as long as the Warp Storm continues, despite its slow dissipation, he would win and his might would cover the surface of this world, and the hellscape would fill the ears of Tzeentch with pleasing screams.

* * *

><p>Sergeant Armanus and his loyalist brothers busied themselves in preparation for the inevitable conflict with the traitors. With the aid of the Duke of Verin, he and his brothers were now well supplied with manpower and recruits. Under the directions of Techmarine Pelagas, the castles and fortifications across the Duke's domain became fortified to fight against the traitors.<p>

Meanwhile, the Sergeant and the Duke travelled to the other major realms of the West to convince the nobles to the righteousness of their cause. Many agreed to follow the Space Marine and the Duke, though a couple had to be shown the might of a Space Marine and his bolt pistol. Then the King called the nobles to arms. Knowing this is both a chance and a trouble, the Duke rallied his supporters and began to recruit men and armed them.

The Duke Verin, the Lord of Duchy of Verin, was possibly the third most powerful individual in the Kingdom. His domain was the size of India, and he commanded total of nearly a hundred thousand soldiers including a thousand Imperial Guards. Aided by the majority of the West, he and the Space Marines now commanded nearly two hundred thousand ready to fight the corrupted and the traitorous.

In order to fight the traitors, the Space Marines took a new approach. Some of the younger Knights of Verin were trained by the Space Marines and were given the low-grade bolt pistols that were meant for Imperial Guards and some of the power swords. None of these weapons would actually match the weapons of the Space Marines, but they were certainly more than laspistols. Trained and armed, the Space Marines took some three hundred Knights of Verin under their wings while simultaneously doubling the number of Imperial Guards within the Duke's army.

With grim determination, the Space Marines silently swore to be victorious and to purge this world of traitors and the foolish.

* * *

><p>The jungles of the Orklands to the far south of the continent were filled with the guttural voices of Orks. The new Warboss quickly rose to power. He took over his own clan, and then tore through the ranks of other Warbosses, quickly uniting nearly half of the jungle-Orks. His war against his fellow Orks quickly began to attract the attentions of fellow Orks. Thousands of remote Ork villages and clans joined the new Warboss Bugklaw. Taking the momentum with glee, the Warboss Bugklaw declared a Waaagh! against the other half of the jungle.<p>

The Waaagh! spread quickly like wildfire. More he fought, more powerful his Waaagh! became. Once he conquered the jungles of Orklands, a region slightly bigger than Iran, he then turned his attention to the cold desert of the south end of the continent, which was also infested with Orks. Divided among the petty Warbosses, the extreme south could not handle the coming of the Warboss Bugklaw. By the end of his campaign, Warboss Bugklaw controlled an area that would easily equal the entire Middle East of Earth.

Had he stopped there, he would not have become such great threat later on. He did not stop there. He followed along the frozen coastline of the planet's Antarctic continent and reached the Ork Islands. These islands were where the real Orks were, but unable to unite under a single banner because of the geography. The Mekboys, though numerous among the islands, were too busy making weapons to make large boats or ships or planes capable of ferrying across large number of Orks. The best Ork ships were usually sent out to become pirates that raided other Ork islands or the humans.

Once sure of the existence of the Ork Islands, the Warboss Bugklaw ordered his Mekboys to build giant barges capable of ferrying across thousands of Orks. The local Warbosses fell swiftly before the might of Warboss Bugklaw, and though he had only captured a corner of the whole thing, the Warboss Bugklaw had become one of the powerful being on this world.

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><p>The Zerg Swarm was not unprepared. The peninsula where they had taken root was now filled to the brim with Creep and thousands of Zerg structures. The Hatcheries were the most popular of the structures, with genetic-base buildings such as Spawning Pools or other such structures matching the Hatcheries by five to one. Each genetic-base building supplied five Hatcheries so as to maintain the strength and stability of the DNA. Hundreds of extractors have sprouted across the volcanic fields to the south west while the central mountains were now full of holes that Drones and MegaDrones delved into.<p>

Outside the peninsula, the Zerg also prospered. They now covered the vast hills and fields of the ruined baronies, now forgotten by the humans. The Zerg had inadvertently placed themselves between the Orks and the humans, though their true intention was to reach to the mineral-rich mountains to the east, which divided southern half of the South into two. These mountains were taller and bigger, and highly metallic in their composition, including several key minerals such as Jorium and crystallized Terrazine. So, the Swarm constructed scores of Hatcheries between the peninsula and the eastern mountains, unaware of the possible Ork threat with all their focus on the humans.

In fact, the Zerg found the Orks retreating further south, though they did not recognize it as the Ork horde following their new Warboss to a Waaagh!, therefore, the Zerg were only peripherally aware of the Ork threat, and they began to pour out creatures meant to deal with the humans, who were more fragile. Another preparation against the humans were the units that were produced before the Great Hibernation. These obsolete Zerglings and other creatures, though powerful, were nothing compared to the new strains of Zerg, yet the Overmind did not wish to waste them. Thousands of Overlords carried the obsolete units to north.

The Overlords would land during the deepest of nights and would deposit units on remote areas. Then the creatures would spread out and burrow into the ground, waiting for the right time. On other occasions, Overlords would carry Drones and Queens and they would construct a small colony of Zerg in the most remote locations within the human realm. Valleys of hostile climate that were shunned by humans were quickly filled with Creep and tall mountains would find their mountainsides sprouting with Spires. Over twelve thousand Zerglings were spread out across much of the South and the Central, ready to ransack the wide rural areas at the first command. Many Zerglings morphed into Gorgelings, but mostly remained Zergling, thereby allowing the Overmind to utilize the fast-moving infantry in the future.

The Overmind did prepare for war to dominate the whole planet, unlike the petty goals of other factions. His Hatcheries and Lairs and Hives poured forth tens of thousands of creatures. Yet, no human would see the sea of creatures around them as the Zerg ground units would burrow into the ground and the air units float beyond the clouds. The Overmind had no doubt of its victory, particularly since his experiments in creating 'heroic units' were well on the way.

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><p>I looked at the three large pods, each containing a humanoid body. After a dozen experiments I believed that I have finally made the ultimate humanoid Zerg body from the DNA I currently had. I still wanted the Space Marines and Eldar DNA as well as that of the Tyranids, but I did have Ork DNA and that helped a lot in physical aspects of my 'heroic units'. Increasing the muscle density was the hardest as the Zerg simply created bigger creatures rather than make effort to evolve thicker muscle fibres. The Ork DNA gave me clues as to creating a balance between the size and the density. This was one of the earliest developments, and had vastly improved the overall strength of the Swarm.<p>

With such denser yet flexible muscle had made Zerglings run faster, able to attack faster and the denser muscle provided greater absorption of shock, reducing the time that a Zergling would be stunned by a concussive attacks. Roaches now moved faster above-ground and underground, as well as shooting the acid further and more often. The muscles that squeezed the acid sacs of the Roaches made their attacks far more potent by increasing the pressure of the acid that was shot outward. Like the Zerglings and Roaches, almost every Zerg unit moved faster now, and that effect was very clearly noticeable for the Hydralisks. The addition of tiny hooks along their lower body along with denser muscle made them quite fast, and their muscle-oriented spine shooting now had longer range, greater firing rate and greater velocity.

The units did get a little bulkier than before but that was totally acceptable. The point was that my Swarm was now much more powerful.

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><p>Thanks for reading!<p> 


	17. Chapter 17

I own nothing that is not original...

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><p>War begins here!<p>

Prepare to see plenty of actions for a while!

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><p><strong>Chapter 17<strong>

The war did not begin at the hands, or claws, or the Zerg. The Zerg Swarm and the Overmind had become quite patient and far more predatory in their pursuit of enemies. The Swarm now moved with intent and vision far greater than before, thereby making their moves much more subtle.

In fact, the war began at the hands of humans. The King's Grand Army, divided among the 17 Dukes and the King himself, marched north, caring little of the bigger picture that they could not see with their narrow views. Their mighty army of half a million men strode forth. The roads were thick with the dust clouds made from the footsteps of the soldiers and the lands around them were dug deep by the unending treads of their horse carts. The first fight was going to be local humans versus the Chaos.

"Forward!"

At the harsh bark of the steel-clad knight on horse, the soldiers lowered their heads and marched forward, trying to ignore their grumbling stomach and parched mouths. Yet, they would dare not refuse their orders. The knight was well armed and trained, and would easily cut off their heads, or so they were told.

The men were relatively well-armed compared to the local forces of the minor nobles who served under greater lords of the realm. These were 'professional' soldiers. They all wore uniformly colored trousers with long leather boots and thick leather armor that protected their arms and thighs while also wearing a single thin steel chest plate. They carried halberds with the staff slightly longer than their own heights with the blade as long as their forearms. These were standard issue being churned out from the various weapons factory set up by the dukes for many years now since the King had secretly approached them.

"Hurry up, men! We are near the designated camp site! You can drink and eat when you are there!"

At his words, the halberdiers marched slightly faster toward their destination. They set up tents and lit up the camp with bonfires and some began to drum their iron helmet with their hands to make music. Soon, the men were laughing and singing, their words jumbled up in the roars of the fire and their own laughter. The knight had got himself a tent of his own and sat down on a chair with a goblet of wine and the parchment rolls of orders. He opened up the map he was given when his men departed.

"We are... here... and... Tomorrow, we fight our first outpost..."

His finger slid up the detailed map and pointed at the tiny black triangle between two high hills.

"Let's see... Outpost C31, with approximately a hundred men, half of whom patrol the surroundings on a daily basis..."

Deep in his thought and after his third goblet of wine, the knight did not notice a strange figure taking shape behind him. Blackish ooze had crept up from between the tent and the ground. It rose up silently and turned into a man-sized creature. Its lower body was stuck to the ground while the top half looked hideous, particularly with a tiny shard of purple crystal on its forehead. Suddenly, the creature shimmered and a halberdier appeared in its place.

This 'creature' slowly and silently, crept up behind the knight's back without a single breathe. Then, with a speed of a lightning, the creature lashed out with its mouth, the tongue instantly stretching into a sharp needle. Immediately, the knight was stunned, then his eyes rolled and mouth opened. Quickly, the creature went closer to the knight and began to vibrate, just as the knight shuddered. After a few minutes, the creature shimmered again and disappeared with no trace of it. The knight's eyes resumed their original position and his mouth closed. Yet, there was one difference. There was a small scar on the back of the knight's head, hidden by his hair.

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><p>The Warp Vault of Judanus flared up as more innocents were torn to pieces and their skulls, hearts and blood were sacrificed for the Chaos Gods. Judanus chanted with Ga'huld in his hand, the daemon sword crackling with Warp energies. Then he pointed the sword at the Vault. With a loud sound of indescribable pitch and volume, a large Warp portal opened and from it came through a Chaos Marine. From the looks, the traitor marine was not from one of the major Chaos Legions. His utterly black armor was trimmed with red and with yellow glyphs carved into them.<p>

The symbol on the left shoulder was a horned human skull with red wings. This Chaos Marine was obviously an Aspiring Champion, a mere child who had just begun his quest for power. As he stepped forward, he was followed by fifty or so Cultists all crudely armed with lasguns and stubbers. Nearly half of the Cultists were dead by the time the Aspiring Champion had led them out of the Vault. The Champion roared at the loss of his squad and pointed his boltpistol at Judanus.

"You! You dared to murder my slaves? I shall have your skull for this!"

Leaning on the wall to the side, Apothecary Lilgath chuckled. Judanus chuckled as well but with far more malice in his laughter. As the Champion rushed at him with the Chain Axe, Judanus swung the Ga'uld.

Boom!

With a single loud explosion, the Champion was flung to the side, hitting the wall so hard that he dropped his boltpistol. Judanus did not miss a beat as he charged at the Champion and kicked him. The kick was enough to dislodge the Chain Axe from the Champion's hand and Judanus grabbed the Chaos Champion by the edges of the shoulder pauldron and flung him aside.

"Know your place, fool! I am Judanus the Betrayer, the Chaos Lord of this world, and you shall serve me or I shall flay your soul with the Warp Fire! Serve me, and I shall give you entire battlefields to sleek your thirst for blood and violence."

The Champion looked up balefully at the Chaos Lord with undisguised hate, and then he slowly bowed his head. Judanus smiled and pointed Ga'huld at the Champion.

"What is your name, and what warband have you come from?"

"I am Hakaron the Evicerator, of the Brotherhood of Darkness."

With a single whisper and a swipe of Ga'huld, the pauldrons and greaves of Hakaron changed color to match Judanus' new armor. The energies of Warp spewed forth from the Vault, and the souls of the dead Cultists of Hakaron were cast upon those armor pieces. Judanus smiled widely.

"You now belong to me! You are not Hakaron the Evicerator, of the Hands of Betrayer warband, taken from the Brotherhood of Darkness."

Hakaron growled.

"If my brothers find you and what you have done here, they will tear you to pieces."

Judanus' eyes gleamed dangerously.

"If they dare, then I shall turn them into roasted meat inside their own armors! In any case, YOU WILL SERVE ME!"

At his words, a ring of Warp energy formed around Hakaron's neck, crackling madly and dangerously.

"The moment you think to betray me, that ring of Warp shall turn your brain into goo."

After finally forcing Hakaron into his service, Judanus let the new Champion of his warband to lead five thousand Cultists to fight the King's Army. Yet, Hakaron was neither the first nor the last of such ritual.

Lilgath chuckled as he brought in more slaves.

"Another one, Lord Judanus? You should be careful... who knows if one of them would seek to usurp you."

"Never fear, Lilgath. I have thought this through. Now, just one more Aspiring Champion before I meet with some real substantive warbands."

"Of course, Lord Judanus."

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><p>"There is news, brothers."<p>

The Space Marines gathered around the Techmarine.

"From the analysis of information gained by the spies of the Duke, the traitor is about to clash with the so-called King."

Armanus nodded.

"Then we must act as well. Our primary target is the traitor Judanus. The dissent King can wait after we have slain Judanus and any foul things that he may have coaxed from the Warp."

"It would not be an easy task, brother."

Armanus pointed to a spot on the map.

"We need to be able to strike a decisive blow here at the Tower of Techpriest. However, in order to negate the possible defenses, we need Judanus preoccupied with his war against the King."

The Duke of Verin nodded.

"I will order my men to march here at the border between the West and the North. If we take a lightning fast strike with cavalry behind the traitor's lines, he would have no choice to send the additional troops, possibly weakening his own safety."

Pelagas nodded.

"Then I shall have the ships ready to disembark. We will sail across the lake and strike from where he does not expect."

"What of the defenses?"

"I can disable them long enough for us slip by."

"Very good."

Armanus turned to his brothers.

"Be ready, brothers. We shall soon avenge our fallen and bring justice to the traitor."

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><p>The uber-Queen stared at the three humanoids in front of her. The strange vibrating voice of Overmind came out from her mouth.<p>

"Well, you are finally ready."

Elric answered first. He was the first test subject of their new bodies.

"Yes, Overmind. We are ready. My hands will tear apart the enemies of the Swarm."

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><p>The uber-Queen looked at Elric. Elric body was the basic form with minimal additions or modules. In a way, he looked like a Protoss Zealot except for the plantigrade legs and the wing-like limbs on the back.<p>

The Zealot-like look came from the yellow metal armor pieces around his body, which were made from the knowledge of the Protoss absorbed by James. The amazing repository of information on the cybernetics had allowed even the Zerg to fully utilize the Protoss technology. Of course, the armor pieces did not have the clean-cut of the real Protoss metal but had strangely compelling wave patterns that made the pieces look rather organic.

One of the main improvements of this cybernetics technology was the use of the Protoss Plasma Shield. It was unfortunate, but no amount of experiment by Overmind could allow the Zerg to have an organ to generate such shield. They could creature a low-level shield that the ancient Protoss warriors could generate but they were so weak compared to the immense protection of a real Plasma Shield. In fact, through the power of cybernetics, the Overmind could recreate the Hardened Shield of Immortals, and the Blink ability of Stalkers. They had to be experimented to see how useful they could be, but they passed all the tests that Overmind could throw at them.

The face and the head of all three looked similar in that they were very much a copy of a Hybrid Destroyer. This was the result of Overmind's use of hybridization of the DNA in order to create the ultimate humanoid form for his new commanders. 6 parts Zerg, 3 parts Protoss and 1 part human, these three bodies were individually powerful but their real work was the commanding of the Zerg forces. So, they were given the power to directly influence the Zerg units within a certain parameter. They could access the Overmind, Overseer and Hiveseer, through which they could see the battlefield, assess the battle and make appropriate decisions.

This in no way had meant that the humanoids were weak King-piece. They were powerful individuals, each with particular style of combat, but none of them lacking in their immense capability for destruction. All three of them had two pairs of tentacles on their back, and this allowed at least 6 limbs for attack, but each of them chose different weapons according to their styles.

Elric, the base model went with the basic combination of melee and range. His arms allowed long bone blade that would be sheathed in psi-blade of Zealot, though more powerful since there was a dedicated crystal for each blade. The tentacles chosen by Elric were the claws of Hydralisks with a little psi-blade added to them. This allowed six powerful melee attacks for Elric. However, he did have some ranged weapons available as well. His chest contained Hydralisk spines that fired at the same speed and range as a Hydralisk, and imbued with the psionic energy, the spines formed a minor version of psi-blade around it for up to 10 seconds, which was more than enough for the spine to hit the target. Just in case that his number of spines ran out because of the spine production, which was slower than that of a Hydralisk, Elric could also spew Roach acid from the mouth, normally protected by hard carapace that could open sideways.

Hargen opted for more ranged weapons for this new body. He kept the same Hydralisk spine attack as Eric but instead of Roach acid attack, he got a Mutalisk's Glaive Wurm attack. For his melee attack, he got a single Warp-blade of the Dark Templars on his right forearm, but instead of having it on the upper section he got it on the side of the arm. This allowed him to slice through a single opponent with greater finesse and damage. His left arm was given an extra field of concentrated Plasma Shield, allowing for a hand-held shield to give greater protection in melee. Of this four tentacles, the upper two were mutated into Glaive Wurm tubes, making Hargen capable of firing up to three Glaive Wurms at once, while the lower two tentacles were given Roach acid pouch, that let Hargen to spray powerful acid on enemies.

Volran, the former village chief and a great warrior who wielded axe, chose for almost full melee attack mode. Though he kept the Hydralisk spines, he got the special organ to replace the Roach acid. He could not use Corrupt ability through his mouth, making the enemy weaker against his mighty melee strikes. Volran's primary attacks would come in the form of six Kaiser Blades with psi-blade add-on. His arms featured Kaiser Blades of Ultraisks, though smaller than the original. The four tentacles were thick with muscles that allowed the four half-sized Kaiserblades with psi-blade upgrade. After quite a while of practice, Volran was now a master of using his six Kaiser Blades to cut through his enemies. His practice simulations did come the cost of 312 Zerglings, 121 Roaches, 85 Hydralisks, 7 Ultralisks, but his skills were enough to satisfy Overmind's concerns.

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><p>With his champions finally ready, Overmind readied his mighty brood. The Swarm was stronger now than ever, even under James and his multitudes of Zerg. Overmind had plans and he had strategies, and now he would enact them upon helpless inhabitants of this world. The war was coming, and now was the time to strike so that the Zerg can finally multiply and thrive without any problems.<p>

"Are you ready for war?"

The champions roared in unison.

"We are ready!"

"Then go! You have your objectives. You have your armies. Go spread the words that the Swarm is coming. Spread those words through the destruction of our foes!"

"All Shall Serve OVERMIND!"

"Indeed!"

Elric hopped on giant hybrid of Zergling and Hydralisk and ran down the hill. Volran rode upon a strange large hybrid of Zergling and Roach with a bit of Ultralisk. He entered the Nydus Network. Hargen jumped on to an equally strange hybrid of Hydralisk and Mutalisk. His flying mount took him north over the mountains.

The War had begun.


	18. Chapter 18

I own nothing that is not original...

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><p>A Reply:<p>

Yes, the stagnation at the 999.M41 will end... when we get there...

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><p><strong>Chapter 18<strong>

"FOR KHORNE!"

"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!"

"SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!"

Led by a blood-covered World Eater Chaos Marine, thousands of cultists with various melee weapons crashed against the armies of the King, all lined up pretty and neat. The steel plates of the heavy infantry of the King's army were nothing to the frenzied swings of the cultists and their deadly weapons. The King's Army fought back. Swords, long and sharp, sliced through the cultists, leaving behind blood and guts. The cultists fired their petty little stubbers shooting lead bullets while the King's Army had crossbowmen by the thousands who shot deadly steel bolts at the enemy.

At a single volley, hundreds of cultists died with long crossbow bolts stuck through them. However, the fallen cultists were nothing to the Chaos Champion. He roared and more cultists rushed froth, stampeding over their fallen comrades. The knights of foot, their thick armor and powerful melee weapons, came into action. Their shields crashed into the oncoming ranks of the cultists while their sword arm were busy hacking through the unending ranks of cultists. Then a long call of horn was heard that was followed by the ground-shaking sounds of heavy cavalry charging at the flank of the Chaos forces.

The Chaos army did not fail to react. The Chas Champion rushed at the charging knights with his elite cultists. The fifty cultists, all of them once Cadian Stormtroopers who fell to the corruption were armed with a hellpistol and a power sword, and they were all maddened with the bloodlust that took the whole lot of them into the embrace of Khorne and his Aspiring Champion. The Chapion, armed with a power axe that crackled with daemonic energy of the Warp and a boltpistol so deeply corrupted that it breathed in the fine mist of blood around it. These creatures of Chaos met the charging knights and struck hard that several knights were flung off their horses and others simply crashed into the thousands of cultists attacking the infantry lines.

"DIE! YOUR BLOOD WILL PLEASE THE BLOOD GOD!"

With maddened screams and howls, the Aspiring Champion of Khorne blasted down three knights before tearing through their ranks with his daemonic power axe.

"Kill that madman!"

A voice was heard that was obviously from a leader among the knights. The giant Chaos Marine turned and ran toward that voice. Neither the horses nor the knights on the horses could stop the giant super soldier. The very bloodlust that made the Champion into a gibbering madman poured out in physical form. His bloodlust crystallized in the air of this heavily Warp-saturated arena and made an armor of thorns that tore the knights and horses into pieces just for being near the Champion.

"YOU DIE TODAY!"

The leader of the knights was struck down with a single stroke to the neck, and the Chaos Champion howled with pleasure as he stuck that head on one of the horns of his armor.

"FOR MORE BLOOD AND SKULLS!"

Their will and morale broken, the soldiers of the King's Army began to retreat from the madmen, and in turning their backs, they exposed themselves to their own doom. The Chaos army stomped through the failing ranks of soldiers and they chased and caught and butchered the soldiers. Hundreds had gone insane and quickly joined the ranks to blood lusting cultists, or slaughtered like their former comrades.

This kind of battle happened all over the border between the North and the East as the King's Army pressed toward the North.

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><p>Slam!<p>

An armored fist punched the wooden desk in the middle of a large pavilion.

"What do you mean that we lost them?"

"Sorry, my lord."

"Three battles, and we have lost every one of them. Now, how am I to tell this to the King? This... story... this ridiculous story of giant armored warriors leading crazed madmen into battle? How are to tell the Dukes and Council of War that I have lost nearly four thousand men within two weeks? HUH!"

At the enraged roar of the Count, the Earls and Barons under his command bowed their heads.

"It is not your fault, my lord. The Duke of Garav must have... umm... hired... uhh..."

"Oh, shut up! Neither you nor I know what is actually going on!"

The Count sighed deeply and looked at the map.

"I will lead the next battle. We will take all our strength and push through here..."

He pointed at a small triangle on the map.

"The Watchtower of Kohren? It would be difficult, my lord."

"I want to trap this enemy. I will send the mercenaries to assault the gates, then when the enemy attempts to surround the mercenaries, I will send the rest of our forces to counter-surround them."

The Earls and Barons nodded.

"A most brilliant strategy, my lord!"

"Fantastic!"

"You are truly a master of war, my lord Count."

The Count was not amused.

"I said, shut up. I am no longer amused by your ass-kissing. Just, go and prepare your armies. We march tomorrow morning."

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><p>The Count sat down in the plushy armchair. This was the one of the few luxuries he had brought to this war. He grabbed his goblet of spiced wine and drank it in a single gulp. As he was pouring another one, he saw two men enter his pavilion.<p>

"Who are you?"

Then he recognized the knight, though the soldier was unfamiliar.

"Ah, sir Cravan."

"Lord Count."

The Count frowned lightly. He didn't remember calling for Cravan. If he remembered correctly, Cravan was leading a column of soldiers to join his army.

"Sir Cravan, what are you doing here?"

The knight stepped forward.

"I've come to report on the status of my men, my lord."

The Count raised an eyebrow. This was not his job. Baron Fedros was supposed to take care of it. Then he chuckled because Fedros was an idiot but he was still the only one with the ability to do things he ordered. The Count guessed that Cravan did not like Fedros.

"Sir Cravan. I understand that Baron Fedros is a rude man, but such report should be made to him."

"Of course, sir."

Yet, the knight didn't change his expression. He simply walked toward the Count.

"What are you doing?"

Before the Count could do anything, the knight rushed at the Count and held his hand over the mouth. The Count struggled but for some reason, the knight was very strong. Then the soldier next to the knight changed.

A large dark-purple creature stood there with sharp bone fingers. The creature came up to the Count and squirted strange liquid on the arms and legs of the Count. The liquid hardened quickly and held the Count in place. The creature spoke in a creepy voice that was so inhuman.

"Yess. Thiss one would do."

Then the creature went behind the chair and stuck its tentacle to the back of the Count's head.

There was no scream that was heard.

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><p>What I found interesting was that there were Space Marines, or I suspected it from the knowledge taken from the various nobles and commanders of the King's Army. My network of Overlords and Overseers were getting larger, but the land was huge and I could only barely cover the South, Central, East and southern half of the West. I even had to pull out most of the Overseers from the Orklands to my south, though I did leave few Overlords even if they could not pierce the thick coverage of the jungle foliage.<p>

From the information I have gathered, I suspected the presence of Chaos Marines. It was unfortunate since they would have corrupted organs and geneseeds. Although it would be a good chance to measure my Zerg against the forces of Chaos, but they would ultimately be un-absorbable. I could use their flesh and turn them into raw materials but I did not wish to risk any possible corruption until I had experimented with the Chaos and the Warp first. Of course, I did have an insurance against the Warp. The knowledge from the previous Overmind on the exact uses and creation of Khaydarin crystal did provide with some very good understanding of invisible powers around us.

Khydarin crystals would absorb all and every type of psionic energy and turn them into pure psionic energy on a unique frequency that only the descendents of Xel'naga could tap into. Since I was the only real sentient with the access to that heritage, I had a massive advantage against the Warp and the beings within. Of they materialized, then I would have to fight them with my units but as long as they are immaterial, I was pretty sure that I could suck their Warp energy and feed myself. I already found a way to more efficiently consume the psionic energy and became more powerful than before. Though I would hesitate to compare myself against Chaos Gods, I was quite sure that I had enormous powers. The problem was that I had no real comparison. Hopefully, my clash against the Chaos would provide me with a benchmark.

Also, the coming was would provide me with an answer to another serious question. With shards of Khaydarin crystal in each and every new Zerg unit, I was now able to channel my psionic might into them, or reverse that and absorb psionic energy through them. Once I found out this particular thing, I was quite interested in how I could use it to my advantage. Then I found a very interesting phenomenon. A Zergling had killed a wild beast during the colonization of a new area of the peninsula. The moment that the Zergling had killed the beast, I felt a strange sensation where the lifeforce and miniscule psionic power, at a level of a normal non-psionic human, was drawn through the Zergling into myself.

The primary Khaydarin Crystal purged any impurities while I absorbed the clean and pure energy. It was a strange and truly amazing sensation. It was obvious that I fed on the soul of the beast, though pathetic it was. I thought I could finally understand why so many seek out to suck the soul of someone else. Particularly for a psionic being as myself, it was truly ambrosia. It was only later that I found even more astonishing thing about this particular process. As the 'soul' of the wild beast was sucked through the Khaydarin shards within the Zergling, the crystals accumulated a little of that energy and fed it to the Zergling. The energy was so little that the Zergling did not get anything of it, but it did give me an idea.

Experiments followed but with mere wild beasts, the results were poor. However, I was able to confirm that every kill made by my Zergs would feed me, and would accumulate within each Zerg creature and they would become stronger. Also, my Zergs now focused their psionic energy in their crystal shards that even in death their energy did not scatter like they did before, but held within the shards. I was able to feed several dead Zerglings into a Hydralisk, eventuating into a mutation. It was minor mutation where the Hydralisk now produced spines with more serrated edges. It was a minor thing, but it followed a certain path in their DNA. This had meant that every kill would allow my Zerg to become stronger, and it also meant that I could creature a lot of hero-level units by building up their 'experience points' so to speak.

Unfortunately, this also meant that I could no longer waste some of the more valueable creatures if they had gathered a lot of energy. Instead, I would dispatch Drones to collect their crystal shards so that I or a creature that I want can consume them. It would be a good thing. For now, though, I was focusing on manipulating the human army so that I can creature more confusion in the north. Then my Champions would sweep through the South.

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><p>Elric was staring at the remote village from top of the low hill. The village was in the middle of golden fields of wheat riping just in time for the harvest. This village was the closest village to Elric's village and had been a good neighbor until quite recently. The souring relations between the two villages had very much to do with Elric. When he was human, Elric did not connect the dots, and had mostly ignored the tension between the two villages as something not of his concern. However, now as a Zerg, his brain operated much more powerfully than ever before, and he was filled with the primal rage of the Zerg, the beastly nature of his new body influencing the man inside.<p>

"I will leave none alive."

Elric whispered to himself, not fully understanding why he was feeling this way. Yet, it was a good feeling. He felt free as his emotions took over his body while the cold and calm strategist remained in the head. Elric gave a mental command, and it was relayed by the Hiveseer dedicated to Elric, which was then relayed to the Overlords and the Zerg within their commands.

Elric could see, hear, smell and feel far more than he could have as a human. He felt the miniscule tremors of Zerg units moving beneath the surface of the ground. He could see the villagers from such distance, and he watched the villagers move about, so unaware of all that was around them. Elric was a patient man from the beginning, and even in his Zerg form, that did not change. He had a mission. His mission was to test the Zerg against the humans. Of course, Overmind had meant a test against the Baron and his army, but the parameters of the test was entirely up to Elric.

"Rise."

His word, itself carrying a powerful psionic signal, reverberated around him, and a dozen Zerglings shot out from the ground and gathered about the powerful Champion.

"Go... hunt down those unwitting fools."

The Zerglings immediately spread out and dove into the tall stalks of wheat, rushing toward the farmers inspecting their crops.

They were caught completely by surprise.

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><p>The half dozen farmers were strolling down the road from the village gate. They were inspecting how well their wheat was doing. They were the leaders of their group. The village, like other farming villages, worked as a commune. Ten households would form a group and they would farm a section of the village's farmland, and because they work together, their yields were high as long as their internal harmony was regulated by the village chief.<p>

They were caught completely by surprise when a dozen Zerglings shot out from the tall, golden wheat that grew high. Before the farmers could even scream, four farms were instantly down with two or three Zerglings digging deep into them with powerful claws. The fifth farmer managed to scream and turn around to run before two Zerglings bit his ankles then tore apart his legs with their claws. The last farmer managed to run, but he was quickly caught up right before the village gate, which was wide open.

Screams were heard from inside the village, as the villagers suddenly heard screams then saw strange beasts tearing apart their husbands, brothers and neighbours. The two militiamen were quick to act and they closed the gate just as the Zergling that killed the last farmer finished eating the brain and charged at the gate. The wooden gate shuddered as the Zergling tackled it again and again.

A bell rang, indicating an attack, and villagers poured out from their houses with crude swords and old leather armors. Among them was a well-armed and armored man. Taller than most, he was full of muscles and a little streak of meaness in his eyes. He held a very good and sharp longsword in one hand and a short stout axe in the other. He was obviously the chief of the village. He quickly turned to the gathered men.

"What is happening?"

Others did not know what was happening, but one of the two guards of the gate answered quickly.

"Strange creatures just killed the Farm Leaders!"

"What!"

The guard swallowed hard and began to explain what he saw. The chief listened carefully and narrowed his eyes in concern.

"Are you telling me that we just lost six men to some wild creatures?"

"Yes, but they were not like any beast I have ever seen! They are definitely not local."

The chief quickly ran to the gate and climbed up the lone watchtower. When he looked down, he saw four Zerglings eating the corpses of the farmers. He also saw the wheat stalks being moved around even though there was no wind.

"Clever creatures..."

The chief recognized bait when he saw one.

"Damn it."

The chief quickly gathered his villagers.

"Alright, everyone who has trained come with me. We are going to kill these wild hounds and retrieve our fallen."

At his words, nearly thirty men lined up with their weapons and leather armor.

"Here is what we are going to do. Half of you will come with me and draw the attention of the creatures while the other half pick up the corpses."

With the plan in place, the villagers gathered around the gate.

"Open the gate!"

As the large wooden gates creaked open the men rushed out. The chief and half of the men made loud sounds and banged their weapons to their shields to make noises. Zerglings bustled around in the wheat before charging at the men. The villagers fought back, and the Zerglings fell back. The chief even managed to kill a Zergling with his axe.

Upon returning back into the village, the chief presented the village with the carcass of the Zergling.

"See, nothing to be afraid of."

Then one of the guards shouted from the tower.

"Uh... chief!"

"What now?"

"There is a man riding on one of those creatures."

The chief turned sharply.

"What?"

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><p>"Who are you?"<p>

This was the question the chief asked at the strange man-creature.

"Chief Elegas... You are older now. Have you forgotten me already, brother-in-law?"

Elegas narrowed his eyes.

"Brother-in-law? I only have sist... Sister... Elric, is that you?"

"Yes, Elegas."

"Are you the one sent these creatures to kill my men?"

Elric chuckled.

"Who else, Elegas?"

"Why?"

Elric's eyes burned red with rage.

"Because I now realize."

"Realize what?"

"I realized why you hated me so much as to have the relations between our two villages so estranged."

Elegas' face reddened as he brandished his axe.

"I do not hate you, brother."

Elric growled.

"I now remember how you looked at her..."

Elegas paled at the words.

"I have no idea what you mean."

"Your villagers do not know... how perverted and disgusting you are, BROTHER!"

Elegas made sure that the villagers were still behind the gate, and could not hear their words.

"Silence! She was mine! She was mine from the beginning!"

"She was your sister!"

"Half-sister! A foundling that my father brought. She was to be mine... until you stole her!"

Elric sneered.

"It is over, Elegas. She has been dead many years now, and all that remains is you."

Elegas narrowed his eyes.

"What happened to Alena?"

Elric roared when he noticed the sick lust within Elegas.

"I sense your lust, Elegas. I assure you that she is safe, and you will never ever see her again."

Elegas chuckled darkly.

"When you are dead, Elric, I am going to be her guardian."

"Dead? It will be you and your villagers who will die."

"Oh yeah? You and what army?"

This was the question Elric was waiting for.

"Me and** THIS** army!"


	19. Chapter 19

I own nothing that is not original...

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 19<br>**

"Me and _**THIS**_ army!"

At Elric's words, hundreds of Zerglings, scores of Roaches and Hydralisks exploded out from the ground both inside the village as well as outside. The ability to move underground was now given to all Zerg ground units, allowing every single one of them to hide their movements from their enemies. Unless the villagers had thick concrete buried deep under their pathetic wooden walls, they had no chance of the Zerg entering their village.

"What?"

The noise was enough to distract Elegas, but he was quick enough to step back as a Zergling shot out from under him. Elegas was mighty warrior equaling the impressive prowess of Volran when he was a human. Elegas was from a good stock with broad shoulders and thick muscles on a tall and strong frame. As a human, Elric could not have hoped to best Elegas, though he was a decent fighter himself.

However, Elric was no longer a human, and the table had turned far enough. The moment Elegas cut apart a single Zergling with his swords, Elric was already moving. Elric did not even need to use his spines. He merely swung with his right arm and let the claw do the work. The Warp Blade surrounding the claw flared with bright purple color, pulsating with Elric's rage.

Elegas was fast enough to bring his own blade in the path of that attack, yet, such actions were utterly futile. The Warp Blade sliced through the sword and chopped off Elegas' right arm. Before Elegas could even scream, Elric's left arm moved, turning Elegas' left arm into mince. As Elegas screamed and fell backwards, Elric jumped on Elegas' legs, landing squarely on the ankles. The sheer weight of Elric's new body, filled with dense organic materials with high metallic contents, made the ankles and the bones inside into dust and mush.

"AAAAARRGH!"

Elegas screamed for a long while before he fainted. Elric chuckled and, leaving Elegas behind, he strode into the village, where the screams of other villagers were music to his ears.

"Kill every one of them! I will see this cursed village turned to ashes!"

* * *

><p>Elric stood in the middle of the village as the slaughter continued around him. He then began to feel the energy flowing through him from the Zerg creatures that killed the villagers. He felt the souls, their emotions and their life force coursing through his body. The energy coagulated around the Khaydarin crystals inside the body and they began to purify the energy into a usable form. Each Zerg creature did at already but their capacity for purifying was much less than Elric's or that of the Overlords. Elric could feel the main part of that collected energy pouring forth toward the Overmind.<p>

The Hiveseer and the Overseers and Overlords acted as transmitters and their sent that energy back to the Hive Cluster. Elric was left to consume to remaining residual dredges of those souls, and yet that enough to give Elric enormous electric pleasures in receiving massive energy. He and other champions would soon find out that such pleasures would be inconsequential in light of greater slaughtering.

"Ahh... that is... a marvelous feeling."

Once the murders have ended, Elric turned to finish off Elegas when he suddenly stopped.

"What?"

A group of Zerglings had gathered the children of the village in one place. Elric narrowed his eyes.

"Kill them!"

Zerglings flinched, but did not harm the children. Elric focused his mind and sent forth a powerful psionic signal to the Zerglings. They almost leapt out at the children, but something held them back. Then the mind of the Overmind crashed into Elric. He groaned as he collaped on his knees as the huge impact of the incredibly large mind of the Overmind touching him directly.

~I have ordered this. Do not interfere!~

At that moment, three Overlords descended, and dropped off two Queens who put the children to sleep with tiny tranquiliser spines and wrapped them up in strange mucus before loading them on to the Overlords. The Overlords left with the children, leaving behind Elric and his army.

* * *

><p>Frustrated, Elric returned to Elegas, who had been trying to crawl away, watched over by the Zerglings that seemed to be amused by the dismemebered human slowly dying despite the cautaurised wounds from the Warp Blades.<p>

"Well, Elegas... any last words?"

Elric was no longer amused by Elegas. It was time to end this. Elegas croaked.

"You monster..."

For some reason, Elric did not mind that insult.

"Well, I am a monster now, Elegas."

Then without further ado, Elric punched through Elegas' chest and ripped out the heart. As he held the heart, he could feel the life force forcibly sucked in by the Khaydarin crystals. Elric momentarily enjoyed the absorbing of Elegas' soul before turning his gaze north.

"One village down, six whole fiefdoms to go."

* * *

><p>While Elric dealt with his old personal issues, Hargen was flying straight north from the peninsula with hundreds of Mutalisks, Corruptors, Devourers, Guardians and Broodlords as well as hundreds of Overlords. Within a half a day of travel, Hargen arrived at the first target. A city on the west coast of the South was the first target of Hargen and his army. Consisted mainly of fliers that could not use the Nydus Network, Hargen had to set up outposts so that he could reinforce his ground forces without the need to ferry them across every time.<p>

The city was walled with a castle in the west, overlooking the sea. It was an old castle by the looks of it, and it was built upon a rocky hill whose west side had been turned to a cliff over the millions of years of sea crashing upon it. The city itself was rather large and houses sprawled outward even beyond its walls. The city obviously belonged to someone powerful as evidenced by hundreds of soldiers patrolling the walls and streets, with large flags flapping proudly upon the battlements. The docks had a dozen wooden ships, half of them obviously military with primitive cannons that shot metal balls. The town was bustling with hundreds of people buying and selling things, and scores of carts were moving back and forth between the nearby villages and the city.

The people of the city did not expect an invasion. After all, there was no war going on nearby, and their lord was a powerful man who was feared by many other lords around their mighty and prosperous city. The lord of the castle was their Count's first son, and the heir to the realm, and he was a renouned knight of an impressive history of many tourney victories and had fought against the Orks ten years ago. Now, in his thirties, the son of their Count had commanded the second most prosperous city in the county, and was in charge of an impressive garrison of two thousand men, including four hundred archers and a hundred mounted knights. The trade along the river and over the sea was impressive enough but the vast fertile farmland around them, fed by the river, was also a source of impressive income. Thus, many people had settled in this city over the last century. Indeed, this city was founded by the current Count's great great grandfather, who wished to build a new capital for his county.

After a hundred years, this city and its castle had become a major source of grains for the county and an important military and economic as well as symbolic location. In order to protect such city, every Count since had placed his first son to rule over the city along with an impressive garrison. Unfortunately, the city's defenses were built against men. Thick and high walls made of stones protected the city while the five storey keep stood guard both as a keep and a lighthouse. The navy of seven well-armed ships protected the coasts while the patrols roamed the surroundings regularly to remove any presence of bandits or a jealous neighbor hoping to take the castle by surprise. There were even cannons, though of most primitive format with the expensive black powder used to propel the large lead balls. The keep had a dozen larger cannons, half pointed at the sea and other half at the east along the river. The city's walls had fifty lesser cannons protecting the walls and the people inside against any incursions.

* * *

><p>It was truly unfortunate for the people of the city that the castle was not designed to fight off a species such as the Zerg. The city would have held against Orks even, if they had attacked in moderate numbers. Yet, they were not expecting the Zerg.<p>

Far above the clouds, three Overseers positioned themselves in a perfect equilateral triangle with three Overlords on each side of the triangle. Right in the middle was a Hiveseer. The three Overseers and nine Overlords began to move. They began to circule the Hiveseer in the middle. The Hiveseer was the axle of this spinning triangle. As they began to spin that triangle, currents of psionic energy began to pool between the Overseers, held there by the immense psionic power of a Hiveseer. Dark purple energies began to crackle in the air between the creatures, the Overlords being used as nods in for the energy to jump. Keeping in perfect formation, the thirteen creatures began to cause a change in weather. The air shifted. The wind changed. Clouds formed and gathered, and they became darker and thicker. Sparks of energies, shooting like lightning began to sizzle around the Zerg units, and then the clouds began to spin, with the Hiveseer as the eye of the storm. Within the matter of an hour, the city, right beneath the Hiveseer, and the surrounding area was darkened by the ever-growing storm that looked as menacing as it felt like.

Surprised at the sudden and utter darkness, the citizens came out from their houses in droves and stared up at the black clouds darker than any of them had ever seen. They also began to see dark purple lightning, though none of them thought it was weird... at least until huge balls of ice began rain down upon them. The hail shot down thousands of iceballs as big as a man's fist, and they pounded upon the people. The guards on the walls ran to their covers while the people hurried back home. First few casualties began to appear as people whose brains have been smashed out by the fast and hard iceballs began to pile up quickly. Yet, those were relatively few and they were very fortunate to die in such peaceful and sudden manner. Then hail was quickly followed by lightning. Hundreds of bolts struck the city, burning thatched roofs and flags upon the battlements. People became afraid. They had never seen such freakish weather before. They would never see it again. In fact, they would never see the next day's sunrise.

The hailstones and lightning stopped as suddenly as they appeared, and in the tiny moment of silence, people peered out from their houses. Then the Zerg came.

* * *

><p>Hundreds of Mutalisks swarmed down from the dark clouds. Their Glaive Wurms fired far more rapidly from the tube-like bodies of the Mutalisks and they shredded everything in their path. Bounding nearly five times now, they didn't slow down as much as they used to. If even one Wurm had entered a household, the house would soon be filled with screams and blood and acid. Guardians came next, as Corruptors and Devourers were useless in this combat. The Guardians fired their deadly concentrated acid from just under the clouds, and their powerful attacks slammed down at the walls and battlements. The Guardians soon broke apart the towers and battlements where the soldiers were hiding from the hail. The soldiers died screaming as the powerful acid balls tore through the walls and turned them into goo. The Broodlords were the next to attack. They began to send down waves after waves of Broodlings.<p>

Unlike the old Broodlords, the new Broodlords were much more powerful. Instead of having two Broodlings held in their air by the anti-gravity field generated by the Broodlord, there were four Broodlings, and two were shot at each attack. Also, the Broodlings were shot with psionic field similar to Warp Blade, making the initial attack far more deadly even against heavily armored units. Since the Broodlings only had a Khaydarine crystal size of half a sesame seed, they could not generate Warp Blade for their claws, but they could absorb the souls of they killed and send them to the Broodlord. Also, the deaths of Broodlings, now much more delayed than before, came with psionic explosions. Designed with the intention, Broodlings would die in explosion after they could do as much damage as they could. The explosive damage was not so great by each individual Broodling, the explosion was stackable thanks to the psionic links between those tiny crystals in each Broodling.

Hundreds of Broodlings now filled the streets and they crashed into the houses through roofs, and slaughtered all they could find. Instead of dying in 30 seconds, the Broodlings lingered and search for more victims as the final wave of the Zerg attack came. Hargen and the Mutalisks descended once again raining down Glaive Wurms while the Overlords moved downwards. Once they got in position, the Overlords excreted the Creep as they deployed the ground forces. Zerglings and their variants, Roaches and their variants, Hydralisks and their variants came pouring out from the Overlords that now carried more than old versions. Among the Overlords were particularly large ones, homage to the Hercules transports of the Terrans, the idea of massive transport having intrigued the Overmind. These transport Overlords could not excrete Creep, exert control or turn into Overseers but they could carry a lot more creatures inside. Each Velociraptor, the ultimate evolution of a Zergling, led a dozen Raptors in hunting down the humans. The Zerglings were commanded from the Overlords above and filtered the streets with their deadly footsteps. Smokers, a variant of Roaches positioned themselves on surviving rooftops and pumped out Acidic Mist so thick that people could not see right in front of them as the tiny acid particles slowly dissolved their lungs and skin. Then Roaches and Beetles came out from the ground and killed the humans.

Slayers, a more powerful version Hydralisks with the ability to fire four attacks worth of spines at a single burst, led four Hydralisks and took down any human soldiers with their improved range and newly empowered spines. The Hydralisks' spines were now coated with acid and charged psionic powers, so they simply cut through any armor worn by any soldier in the city. Even the knights with their full steel body armor were immediately shot down by the powerful ranged attackers.

* * *

><p>Hargen descended on his terrifying mount. He was guarded by four Gattlisks, a new version of Mutalisks that had three tubes on its body and with more armor to fight off powerful enemies. Capable of firing its three tubes at once or in sequence, the Gattlisk was created from the DNA of the wasp-creatures that first attacked the Zerg when they came upon this planet. Now, the wasp-creatures have been wiped out and their genetic materials were fully absorbed into the Swarm, allowing creations of powerful creatures. By the time Hargen had jumped off his mount, he was shuddering with the pleasures of souls coursing through him. It was like thousand orgasms that continued to spasm his new body every second.<p>

"Ahhh... Such pleasures... All hail Overmind! Thank you for granting me such... such sensation."

It took several minutes for the spasmic pleasures to subside as the Zerg creatures killed all adults they could find and collected the children for the Overlords to carry back to the Primary Hive Cluster. Shaking his head, Hargen started at the keep, where its lord and last remaining soldiers and knights of this city blockaded themselves against the Swarm. A Hydralisk came to Hargen and dropped off a knight whose arms have been cut off but still alive. Several other creatures dropped off their preys, still alive.

"Good. Begin."

At his command, an Overlord dropped off several Spylings who immediately drilled through the surviving wounded and absorbed their brains. Entering the empty skulls, the Spylings began to excrete their body to fix the wounded body. The dark purple flesh of Spylings reformed the lost limbs including the armor. Once the conversions were done, Zerg creatures attacked the spys just enough to make them look like they have fought through hell and back. Hargen smiled wide.

"Excellent... This should fool them."

* * *

><p>"Open the gate!"<p>

When two knights, one of them wounded with his left arm cut off, and half a dozen soldiers came to the keep and banged on the door, the gate did not open so easily. Soldiers with crossbows peered out from tiny slits to verify them before whispers were heard. The wounded knight shouted again.

"Hurry! They are coming!"

Someone answered.

"Who are you? Speak!"

The knight frowned with incredulity.

"What madness is this? Do you not know who I am? From your voice... Sir Beltor, is that you? It is I, Sir Ordees, and Sir Ulren. I have survivors, and I am badly wounded."

There was a moment of silence before the gate slowly opened a little. The voice of Sir Beltor spoke again.

"Hurry, Sir Ordees."

The wounded survivors hurried inside, and once inside, they sighed deeply with the pleasures of salvation so genuine that everyone understood it as the sigh of relief that would obviously follow after such terror. Sir Beltor, a large gruff man with thick reddish beard came up to Ordees and Ulren.

"Are you alright, Sir Ordees?"

"I have lost my left arm. I was able to cauterize it, but I need medical intervention."

Indeed, Ordees looked very pale. Beltor nodded and ordered two men to take Ordees to the infirmary. Beltor turned to Ulren.

"Sir Ulren... ah, the new boy."

Ulren, a young knight whose boyish charms were still beneath the grimes and blood on his face, nodded.

"Yes, Sir Beltor."

"Anything to report?"

"It was terrible..."

Ulren began tell the story of horrific creatures and their terrifying slaughters of men and women, and how they abducted children. Beltor nodded grimly.

"This is much more serious than we expected. We had no idea but we did have to fight a few of such creatures."

Beltor showed the corpses a dozen Zerglings, two Raptors, a Roach and a Hydralisk, as well as scores of men dead by the claws and spines of the Zerg creatures.

"These are terrible creatures. Come! I am sure our Lord will want to see you."

"Yes, Sir Beltor."

The two knights entered the keep and they found themselves in the main hall where nearly thirty knights were standing around a large table where a huge map of the city and its surroundings were laid out. The only knight sitting was clad in handsome armor with excellent burnish with gold trimmings. This was the famed Lord of this city and the son of the Count Hebaras. Beltor and Ulren bowed as they entered. Sir Hebaras, the Lord Knight of City of Ebram and the heir to the Hebaras County, raised his hand in recognition.

"Come! So, he is a survivor?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Let me see. Ah, the young Sir Ulren."

Ulren blushed.

"Thank you for remembering me, my lord."

"I remember every knight who serves under me. Now, speak of what is happening out there."

Ulren approached Hebaras closer, but no one was concered as Ulren didn't have any weapon.

"Well, my lord, the strange bloated creatures poured down strange goo along with the creatures. We fought as hard as we could but these creatures are powerful, my lord."

Hebaras nodded.

"I have noticed."

"And, my lord..."

"Yes?"

"The city is now _**OURS**_!"

Ulren's eyes turned purple.


	20. Chapter 20

I own nothing that is not original...

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><p>Fate of the children?<strong> EXPERIMENTATION!<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 20<strong>

Lord Knight Hebaras did not get to his position by being neglect in his practices. He leapt up with his sword out immediately and it was just enough to block the sharp bone knife shooting from the left hand of the Spyling pretending to be Ulren.

Clang!

The sword was not a normal steel sword that other knights used. It was one of the heirlooms of the Count of Hebaras and a gift from the Tech Priests. It was one of the few items in this planet that had either adamantium or plasteel. Fortunately, there used to be a couple of very small mines of adamantium which have had allowed the Tech Priests to make new power swords over the last five centuries. Although the adamantium mines have run dry two centuries ago and the Tech Priests now dead, there were some high-tech weapons floating around the nobility. This sword was one of those, and was able to block that powerful attack from the Spyling. Beltor immediately took out his own sword and slashed at the Spying in Ulren's body. The Spyling was far superior since it did not care about the pains of its new body.

Moving at a speed that would have caused intense pain to a normal human, the Spyling moved out of the way and created two main bone claws from the hands. Hebaras growled as he pressed the switch on his power sword.

Bzzzing!

"Cut off its arms and legs and bring it before me!"

"Yes, my lord!"

The knights all took out their swords. The Spyling smiled.

"You think that I am the only one?"

Beltor's face paled. Suddenly, the door banged open and a soldier came rushing in.

"My lords!"

Before they could respond, the Spyling leapt at the table, skewering a knight with his bone claws before being chopped to pieces by other knights. Hebaras growled and pointed his sword at the soldier.

"WHAT IS IT?"

The soldier gulped.

"My lord, Sir Ordees just turned into a monster and killed thirty two wounded soldiers before we killed him."

Beltor suddenly jumped toward the window and looked out at the main gate. Hebaras had realized the same thing and also looked at the window. As they stood there, Hebaras asked Beltor.

"How many survivors from outside have come in?"

"Six men, my lord."

"Six men like that may be enough to..."

"Open the gate?"

"Yes..."

Hebaras turned to the knights.

"Sound the alarm! Prepare for battle!"

* * *

><p>The bell rang with such maddened urgency that even the primitive individual minds of the Zerg noticed it. As their gaze turned toward the keep and its bell, Hargen chuckled. He pointed his finger at the keep, and in that silent command, the Swarm launched itself into action. Zerglings, Roaches, Hydralisks and all their variants rushed forth toward the gate of the inner wall, the last bastion of the castle.<p>

Primitive black-powder cannons fired, shooting down heavy balls of lead upon the Zerg. The Zerg could not burrow-move into the inner sanctum because of the rocky hill that it was built upon, but they had sneaked six Spylings past the defences and they were opening the gate. The Zerg did not move without plan. They may not have moved in formations but they were smart enough to not rush in blindly.

Three Smokers took the point and they spread their Acid Mist as soon as they cleared the gate. Five cannons relocated to fire at the gate were useless as the thick green fog of acid filled the courtyard. The soldiers could not see, and though most of the Spylings were now dead, the gate was already opened enough for the Zerg to burst in. Smokers were followed by Roaches and Beetles, whose powerful acid instantly dissolved soldiers manning the cannons. A few shot had been fired, and two of such shots had hit a Roach and a Zergling. The Zergling was knocked aside from the impact and had its legs broken, though it survived and was healing. The Roach's heavy carapace had bounced the lead cannonball despite the large dent it made.

The Zerglings and their variants rushed in, following the Roaches. Velociraptors led their brothers into a frezy of slaughter, tearing soldiers and knights into pieces with their four attack claws. Hydralisks, led by a single Slayer, came last, though their work against the crossbowmen in the windows was far more valuable than what Zerglings could do. Spines were shot with extreme precision and the soldiers died quickly. Burning pitch was poured over some Zerglings, but such low temperator could not possibly kill any Zerg. Two of the Zerglings were temporarily blinded by the pitch, and their carapace sizzled in the fire making the smell of burning protein, but the high-metal content of their biology was enough to stop the damage there.

The door of the keep, reinforced by steel and thick timber, was the last real block against the Zerg. The courtyard was already clear and the soldiers and knights were torn to pieces, though some did manage to kill a few Zerglings and a Hydralisk, but that was the last effort they could bring to bear. The Slayer led the Hydralisks and they focused their spines at the door. They were not trying to break the door down, because that would be stupid. They were making holes. Then, the Roaches and their variants came to bear. Their acid were sprayed on the door, the holes made by the Hydralisk spines allowing the acid to seep through the thickness of the door, speeding up the deconstruction of what barred their path.

* * *

><p>Lord Knight Hebaras was in the main hall awaiting the enemy to breach the door of the main hall. The door of the hall was not reinforced since it was mainly for decoration. In his left hand, he had a laspistol, a gift from his father when Hebaras was made a Knight by the King himself after reaching top eight in the King's Tournament. He had three power packs for the laspistol, and his power sword was fully charged. Yet, he could not help feeling afraid. This was never an enemy he had fought before. These were truly creatures of nightmare. In all his knowledge, he could only have made one conclusion that these were 'daemons' as appearing in the old texts where the Ancestors, who came down from the stars where they sailed in giant 'star-ships', had fought just before they landed on this world.<p>

He had seen the pictures, so he knew that these looked different, but that made absolutely no difference in current situation. Hebaras now had eight fully-armored knights, nineteen man-at-arms with sword and shield, and eleven crossbowmen. He knew that they would die, but he thought he could take a few with them. Then the creatures came.

The door blew up from a single Baneling, and from that explosion came the Zerglings. Five Zerglings, one Raptors and a Velociraptor charged in. Crossbowmen fired their arrows, and three Zerglings fell with steel arrows stuck deep into their carapace, but not enough to kill them. The knights and soldiers were upon them though, and the three Zerglings were immediately chopped to pieces, while the other Zerg creatures launched themselves against other soldiers.

Hebaras fired his laspistol at a Zergling's head, and it took out an eye. Roaring in pain, the Zergling came at Hebaras, leaving his original target. The Zergling did not expect the power sword slicing across its face, cleaving it in twain. Ignoring the dead Zergling, Hebaras fired his laspistol at a Raptor that had lunged at a crossbowman and was busy tearing him to pieces. Six shots from the laspistol took out one of the attack claws and one of the hind legs. As it screamed in pain and defiance, the power sword beheaded it.

These heroic actions had caught the attention of the Velociraptor. With its claws suddenly glowing in bluish purple, the Velociraptor lunged at Hebaras who fired laspistol at the Velociraptor's face. The Velociraptor quickly blocked the attacks with its glowing claws, the energy field of Psi Blades blocking the attack. Then the creature slashed its secondary attack claws at Hebaras' waist, only to miss as the Lord Knight parried the attack and stabbed with the power sword. The Velociprator quickly swung its claws and blocked the attack, for the first time showing that Zerg were not completely without defence against power weapons, yet the Lord Knight was not an easy man to defeat. See that only the claws were protected by the nimbus of power, Hebaras made a quick slice across the arm section of the attack claw, effectively chopping it off below the Psi Blade/claw.

The creature still had three claws left and it lunged again and again, and Hebaras blocked or evaded the attack each time and made effective counter attack with each block. Blinded by the laspistol and both of its attack claw severed, the Velociraptor howled in frustration before a strong kick from the Lord Knight toppled it backward. Then Hebaras made a good thrust that tore through the creature's neck and severed its elongated brain into a mush of gunk. With that done, Hebaras turned to find the hall bloody, but victorious. It was a pyrrhic victory at best, since only three knights, six man-at-arms and three crossbowmen left with him. This was the last fight of his life, and he knew it.

The next wave came soon after, and this time, it was not just a few Zerglings. The wall to the left exploded under the concentrated fire from Zerg Guardians and a Brood Lord had fired Broodlings into that breach, while eight Zerglings, three Raptors, two Roaches, a Hydralisk and the Slayer entered through the front. The battle did not last long, and only Hebaras was able to make any dent in the Zerg forces, and even then he was soon alone, with his back to the wall. The Zerg, once other soldiers were dead, had surrouned Hebaras as if they were waiting for something. Hebaras quickly reloaded his laspistol and put it on maximum setting. The Zerg had surrounded him but they kept their distance enough that the laspistol would not make fatal shot. The tension mounted as Hebaras began to wonder why they were not attacking.

It was then, that Hargen entered the hall. At the sight of a humanoid, Hebaras realized that Hargen was indeed the leader of his enemy. As Hargen stepped forward, Hebaras pointed his laspistol at him and growled a question.

"What are you?"

There was no question of 'why' or 'who', and there was no outcry of 'how dare you' from Hebaras. He was sharp enough and realistic enough to know that if an enemy would slaughter thousands of people within a matter of hours, then they have come to kill, rather than occupy.

Hargen smiled. He liked this man. Hebaras was a bright person. There was no need to ask the purpose of this attack. The purpose was so obvious. The purpose of the attack was to kill.

"We are the Zerg. We are the Swarm. We serve the Overmind."

The answer was simple, and there was no need for Hebaras to actually understand what that was.

"Whatever you are, I curse you even with my dying breath."

"Don't worry, Lord Knight Hebaras. You will die soon, anyway."

Hargen sneered and moved aside. Hargen had every intention to fight Hebaras, except that the Overmind had given him a task. The Slayer, slightly larger than a Hydralisk, but created at twice the cost, moved forward.

* * *

><p>The Slayer was a peculiar creature. It was almost exactly like a Hydralisk, except for its slightly large frame. Produced at twice the cost and time, as well as double the control, this creature was highly inefficient in terms of cost versus effectiveness. Although it was a little tougher, it did not have 'double' the health and strength of a Hydralisk, and it fired its spines at the same range, speed and power as a Hydralisk. The major difference, however, was in the extra Khaydarin crystals inside the creature. Unlike a Hydralisk, which has only one small crystal inside its brain, a Slayer has three crystals. The one inside the brain would increase its brain's processing power as well as capable of empowering the spines. The other two smaller crystals were located at the base of the arms, where they would later be capable of making the claws more deadly by giving the Psi Blade power.<p>

However, the Slayer displayed no such powers yet. It could add a little Psi Blade effect the spines like other Hydralisks were doing but that was the extent. The slightly smarter behavior could be attributed to the large brain. The creature had not shown any great abilities other than its basic ability to fire numerous spines at once. Now, something was different. The Overmind had experimented with his creatures, and the Slayer was the epitome of the experiment in how the absorption of souls could influence the Zerg.

This particular Slayer had been dropped into an army barracks with five Hydralisks. The intense fighting had left many scars upon its carapace, but it had survived and slaughtered the entire garrison even though the Hydralisks had fallen. Then this Slayer had gone into the streets and continued its terrible slaughter and gorged itself on the souls of the fallen. Zerglings were able to collect enough psionic energy to fill their tiny crystals to the brim by killing just a dozen or so humans, the fear in the victims making them particularly rich in excess psionic emissions that fed the crystals. A Zergling could evolve from killing mere dozen, but a Hydralisk needed to kill a lot more, and a Slayer even more. This Slayer has had its fill of murder, and all three crystals inside it were full with power.

As Hargen introduced the Slayer, it had finished morphing. Its evolution had made it into a creature truly of nightmare. Its claws had lengthened and had become serrated, but that was not the terrifying part. The Slayer now had two smaller heads protruding from the base of its neck. Only about half as big as the original head, but fully looking like a Hydralisk's head, it even featured the spines that they shoot. The necks of these secondary heads were slightly longer, allowing them greater arc of fire. The Slayer was now a Cerberus, three-headed hound of hell, aptly named.

* * *

><p>Hargen actually liked this terrible creature and its menacing appearance.<p>

"Interesting morph, isn't it? From what I understand, the original creature, we call the 'Slayer', can morph in a variety of ways."

Hebaras was not amused.

"What kind of insane creatures are you?"

Hargen shrugged.

"To be brutally honest, I don't rightly know either. Well, time for you to die."

The Cerberus launched itself at Hebaras, who fired his laspistol wildly at the creature. The carapace blocked the attacks despite the maximum setting. The tiny burn marks showed that although it was not utterly immune to the attack, a laspistol simply did not have the power to penetrate the armor of a Cerberus. Not only that, the serrated claws was now covered in nimbus of power and the power sword could not cut it. With its sword knocked aside, Hebaras could only scream as the three fanged mouths tore him into pieces of meat.

Hargen sighed with pleasure as the last human soul in this city had been extracted. He then grabbed the fallen power sword. He wielded it and smiled.

"This is nice... The warm-up is over, so... Well, let's get started."

* * *

><p>As I gazed over Hargen's progress, I was pleased that my experiment with the Hydralisk DNA was a success. From that morph of the Slayer, I gathered incredible amount of data. I now had the maps of evolution that my Zerg could take. Every creature now had the ability to morph into something more. Even the humble Zergling could become a powerful creature that could rival creatures of higher echelon, though their path of individual evolution was limited at best. However, while we are on this planet, I was free to experiment.<p>

I planned so that in the far future after I have conquered the whole planet and have infested it utterly, then I could send my 'hero characters' to other worlds in this galaxy. They could use this to personalize their own army, allowing the Zerg greater variety of strategy and tactics. Although core units would remain the same, they could branch out in ways that not even I could imagine now. It was truly pleasing discovery.

The Slayer had taken what I named as the Path of Death. This was the first DNA map that I could establish, thanks to the particular evolution. Although I could not directly influence the morph of this Slayer, now I could by having the Slayer morph which allowed my discovery. Already, the Xel'naga's genetics technology in the previous Overmind's genetic memories showed me how I should go about implementing this path of evolution. The Path of Death was an 'offensive-heavy' modification to the creatures. The Slayer would turn into a Cerberus, which can fire its spines at the three times the normal rate of fire, and has greater range and velocity of spines. The next evolution would allow the spines to be heavily covered with Psi Blade effect, making them far more deadly against armored units. Also, the Cerberus would eventually develop Psionic Carapace, Plasma Shield and Cloaking, turning the creature into an ultimate killer.

* * *

><p>In this Path of Death, the Zerglings and their variants would gain longer and serrated claws and theirs arms would longer and stronger. The continued evolution on this path would allow Zerglings to use Psi Blades for the claws, burst out from burrow-state and turn themselves into living ammunition that could pierce vehicle armor and allow the creature to slaughter the crew or the organs. A Velociraptor on the Path of Death would even gain short-range version of Corruption ability from a Corruptor, making their attacks far more effective.<p>

Banelings and their variants on this Path would gain the ability of make a small leap as well as Plasma Shield that would protect it from death before it could reach its target.

Roaches would gain longer range and denser acid to begin with, and then it would gain serrated claws. They would eventually gain three heads like the Cerberus, and finally gain the ability hop low cliffs and rough terrans like the Terran Reapers.

Hydralisks, unlike the Slayers, would not gain three heads. Their evolution would begin with longer range and greater damage, and then gain regenerative powers of Roaches, making them to return to full health while burrowed. This ability will eventually become greater and Hydralisks will be able to bury themselves about half way into the ground, which grants them the ability regenerate while still capable of attacking, albeit like living turrets.

These were but a few examples of the Path of Death. I would have sample the other Paths before I could map them all, but I could already estimate several different Paths to be discovered. For now, I was pleased with how the Slayer experiment worked out. I would have to revamp the Slayer itself, but that was not the worry now.

* * *

><p>The current issue was the thing with the children that I rescued from their immediate and gruesome death.<p>

At first, I thought I was saving them, and I thought I would feel pity about them and let them live, but I found that I no longer than such strong emotions about them. I no longer felt as human as I used to when I rescued Alena.

I realized that when I had rescued Alena through Toby, I was going through my version of human puberty, where the conflicting identities within me were merged in a violent way. Now I am complete, and the human emotions and any such human foolishness had become much less than before. I doubted that I would be able to gloat and feel particularly happy over minor things.

Certainly, I could feel emotions, but they were far more primitive emotions than I had expected. Although there was a little of James that was still part of me, but it was now in the subconscious part of me. As a purely conscious entity, I didn't really have all that much of subconscious but it was still there, providing me with ingenuity and added the unbound cruelty of a human into my Swarm.

I cared little for the children, but I did have some uses for them.

Firstly, I needed to experiment with human forms. I really wanted a body of my own, and extensive and intensive experiments were required. I needed to study every piece of human DNA while finding how best to contain my impressive consciousness into a humanoid body.

Secondly, I had long wondered about the strange energy field all around the planet. Now, I had made an educated guess that it was a Warp Storm, quite unique to this universe. The problem was that a planet swallowed by a Warp Storm had no mutations any kind from what I have encountered so far.

Normally, a planet swallowed by a Warp Storm would be torn apart from the entrophies or its population turned into horrible mutants beyond recognition. At the very least, the people should be exhibiting signs of psykers among them. Yet, I could find none so far... that was until I had made the Hiveseers.

Created to be sensitive to psionic powers, Hiveseers would be powerful connection to me. It was through them, working as my sensory receptors, that I found the whole planet muffled by the Warp Storm. We were right in the very eye of the storm, and its massive Warp energies were simply blanketing the planet with such intensity that not even the daemons could easily enter.

In fact, a Hiveseer I sent beyond the atmosphere had shown me sillouettes of daemons pounding at the wall of Warp current that swirled around the planet. By some strangest coincidence, the planet had fit right in the middle of the Warp Storm, somehow holding the storm in place.

Had it not for that fact, the planet would either have been swallowed up by the Warp or torn apart, or infested by daemons. Moreover, I found that the Warp Storm was actually draining the psykers on this world of their psychic power. It was not really 'draining' them, but the sheer pressure of Warp energy had expelled their connection to the Warp, making them unable to feel the Warp itself.

If the Warp Storm had ended, this planet would have hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of psykers who are suddenly hit by the immensity of Warp. Once the storm passes, this world would almost instantly become a Daemon World thanks to the numerous psykers unable to control themselves, and unwittingly call forth the daemons that just waited to get at them.

Unfortunately for the daemons, I had arrived at a strange moment. My present, and the presence of the Khaydarin crystals, had begun to drain the Warp Storm in such gradual level that it would shorten the life of the storm to mere decades. From my estimation, it would be less than a century before the storm dissipates. It was enough time for my conquest of the planet, but it did bring the question of psykers.

Indeed, among the children I had rescued nearly one in ten of them had psychic signatures. I had to bring a Hiveseer do the ground level to feel that, but it confirmed what I had suspected. Truly, the nature of Warp and Warp Storms were strange. Who could have possibly imagined such thing? May be Tzeentch, but I doubted it.

This did give me a good palette of test subjects and DNA information. These children and their brains would really help in upgrading any of my psionic units. Imagine Queens that can fire Psionic Storms with rapidity, and Infesters capable of producing Infested Terrans at such rate and number that it would swarm over the enemy with ease. Imagine Infested Terrans firing psionically charged spines that could tear apart daemons like wet tissue paper.

Even a mere imagining of such thing was glorious.


	21. Chapter 21

I own nothing that is not original...

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><p>It appears that this chapter has low word count because of the dialogues... but it is 9 pages on A4, on standard MS Word document.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 21<strong>

~So, would you like some new friends?~

Alena paused for a moment and took time to think about it. She stroked the soft worm fur of Toby's psionic image within the 'Matrix'. She looked really cute now. Like any girl, she enjoyed things of fashion, and of course, I didn't really know. I could dredge up every piece of memory from James, and I could since I literally could sift through every single moment of his life, and could replicate any clothes or makeup.

Inside the Matrix, Alena had grown up quite a lot despite the few months she lived inside the 'Matrix'. At least in the psionic mental field, she looked nearly 16, despite the fact that she was less than 10 years old. She was now wearing a nice peach-colored one-piece with tiny blue flowers along the waist. The sleeveless one-piece was really cute on her, and I thought she looked very nice and pretty. I even felt a little emotion when I saw her. Actually, I felt emotion everytime I see her. It was the last vestige of my tumultuous emotional reformation. It was fortunate for Alena because I still cared for her unlike any other children I have seen since. I only now have realized that her connection to me was more than emotional. She was a psyker, and a powerful one at that.

Even under the enormous pressure of the Warp Storm, her immense psychic potential had slipped out and hooked Toby. No wonder Toby was so loyal and enthralled to Alena. It must have been some sort of natural defense mechanism put up by her highly developed brain, and despite the intense psychic pressure of the Warp Storm keeping her brain power at minimum, she was able to influence Toby after she was saved by him. Her connection to Toby affected me as well, since there were not so many Zerg with me at the time, and I had devoted much of my consciousness in that rescue.

I did not know why, but I still liked Alena greatly, and unlike other children, she had a special place in my 'heart'', so that was lucky for her. In that mindset, I offered Alena 'friends'. She didn't know but I was going to put some of the younger brains into the 'vats' where Alena, Elric, Hargen and Volran were floating in. I thought that Alena might want some friends. However, she shook her head.

"No... I guess I have been alone so long that I don't think I will be comfortable with new friends. I am just glad to have Toby and you, and daddy, and Hargen and Volran..."

~I see. Well, I do have some kids coming in, but I will keep them separate.~

"Oh, so they are coming no matter what?"

~Yeah... They have recently suffered trauma...~

She looked at me with a knowing stare that made me a little uncomfortable.

"Did you... Did you kill their families?"

Now, that was harder question to answer. I decided to be honest... though I was quite uncertain as to her reaction.

~Yes. I will not deny that the Zerg had wipe out their communities, and your father and Hargen had carried out the slaughter.~

I was nervous, but I didn't really think about what she had learned and understood within that compressed timeline inside the vat.

"Well, if I was still a little girl, I would have felt differently, but now that I am a Zerg as well... I am sure that you have done what needed to be done. At least you saved the children."

That was shocking. She spoke these so calmly that I was almost worried, and then I realized that much of her humanity had been removed since her near-death. It was a gradual thing, and although she wasn't a complete psychopath, she was willing to do what was necessary to survive. As a Zerg, her survival required all those who would kill a Zerg to die out. I almost regretted having her humanity removed. I could have tried something else to save her life, but the deed was done. She lived, and that was the important bit.

~Yeah... at least I have saved the children.~

"What will happen to them?"

I paused.

~Do you remember about what I explained about the 'psykers' in this galaxy?~

"Yes."

~Before, I didn't really know much about actual biology of psykers, but upon capturing these children, I have come to a greater understanding.~

"Uh huh... go on."

~It appears that about one in every ten people on this planet are psykers, but the Warp Storm, and the fact we are right in the eye of the storm, made them invisible.~

She did have much of the knowledge that James had, since she had gone through much of James' own education from Earth, plus I had many sets of memories and knowledge from various people absorbed by the Zerg, including Kerrigan and her Ghost training. Alena excelled in her education, and she knew all that made Kerrigan into an efficient killer and knew all the great strategic and tactical minds of infested Terrans. Also, she knew about the Warp and its dangers.

"Is that why there are no daemons?"

~Yes. The eye of the storm exerts so much psychic pressure that it forms a sphere of void that not even Greater Daemons of Chaos can penetrate.~

She narrowed her eyes.

"You are exaggerating. You don't know if they can enter."

I chuckled.

~Well, let's just say that I made an educated guess. If daemons could sense how my psykers are on this world, then they would spare nothing to breach that barrier.~

"I guess so... but what is that got to do with the children?"

~I intend to use the brains of the psyker children to form protection against psychic powers for the Zerg.~

"Why?"

~The problem is that when we, the Zerg, first entered this planet, we made a tiny hole in the eye of the storm. Our Khaydarin crystal began to absorb the ambient energy and grew larger and stronger. Now that every Zerg carries shards, the collective power of the crystals is enough begin draining the Warp Storm, or at least its eye.~

Alena nodded.

"I see. If the eye of the storm weakens, daemons can enter. To fight against daemons, since they are not actually physical beings, we would need anti-psyker powers to defend ourselves."

~I believe that psionic weaponry such as Psi Blades and Warp Blades taken from the Protoss would do well, but I will not take the chance.~

"You think that Chaos can corrupt the Zerg?"

~The Warp is chaotic at best, and at worst... it can literally bring forth nightmares. It could easily corrupt isolated Zerg units, and if a Chaos Daemon somehow gets into Hive Clusters...~

Alena understood.

"The damage could be catastrophic."

~Yes. The problem is that I have no idea how our interaction with the Warp would work. I have no idea whether the Zerg are immune. I have no idea how long or how well Khaydarin crystals can stand againt raw powers of the Warp.~

"You are concerned. How long will it be before the eye fails?"

~I am estimating forty years of this planet's rotation.~

"Do you think you can adapt the Zerg against the Chaos and the Warp in that time?"

~Possibly. However, I will need more psyker children and their brains to aid me in this.~

"So, I will take care of the psyker children?"

~Only a few. Those who are too young to remember how the Zerg tore apart their families, and among them, those who have the potential for tactics and strategies would be spared. Others will be experimented upon.~

"What about normal, non-psyker children?"

I shrugged.

~I have uses for them. I am trying to drive the Zerg into a new stage of evolution. It is high time that we as a species evolve beyond pure biology.~

Alena frowned.

"I do not understand."

~We need to begin using technology as well as our biology, Alena. Even Protoss Plasma Shield can be amplified by relatively simple technology, but without that piece of technology, the shield we can generate through our organs are much weaker.~

"Well, if that is what you think is the best course of action for us all."

~It is... Alright... I got work to do.~

Alena nodded, and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Have a good day!"

I was a little stunned. She only liked Toby, and had never shown any affection for me. I was an infrequent visitor at best, and now...

~What was that?~

"What?"

~That!~

"It's just a kiss on the cheek, you prude. Go! You got work to do."

~Okay...~

That was... strange...

* * *

><p>Boom!<p>

The large cannon fired with a loud boom, and a ball of iron as big as a man's head flew over the heads of men and smashed into the ranks of enemies. Its velocity and temperature was enough to tear through a dozen men with ease, then hit the ground with an explosive impact, only to bounce from that and killed another dozen. Yet, the enemies were still quite numerous, and still quite willing to fight.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Another three cannons fired their deadly packages, and they also caused incredible damage to the densely pakced enemy charging like madmen. They were madmen though, and that had meant, in their frenzy, they did not recognize the level of danger they were in. Even as thirty blackpowder cannons fired in threes, achieving perfect syncronised firing every five seconds, the Army of the North did not relent.

They fired back with their own blackpowder cannons, though their ammunition, or the cannons themselves, were not like the ones used by the King's Army. They had the body of the same blackpowder cannon, but the very metal itself had twisted itself into a grotesque monstrosity with teeth, eyes, nostrils, tentacles and wings. Most of them were red in color, oozing drops of blood they seemed to generate to no end. The mouths of the cannons were lined with sharp fangs that regularly flinched as if it was breathing. A tiny mound of a head was growing out from the top of the cannon's body where five eyes stared at the King's Army with senseless hate that originated from the very being of that cannon-creature.

The ammunition was not normal either. The Army of the North did not fire their cannons with fire, but the cannons fired themselves as if they were living beasts, and they fired various things. Balls of fire shrouded around metallic skulls that opened their jaws as they impacted and exploded among the King's soldiers, and they were just the primary ammunition fired by the daemonic cannons. Some of the bigger cannons, obviously based on the same cannon as any other, but gorged so much on the blood that it had grown, and the cannon had lengthened and widened with tentacles and claws popping out around it. Such creatures were so few that they could be counted with a pair of hands, but they fired hardened balls of dried blood.

The blood balls landed in the ranks of soldiers and exploded, showering the army with red ooze. The problem was that the soldiers covered in that liquid went crazy. Their eyes were filled with blood and their tongues lengthened and forked, and their teeth changed into fangs. Their clothes tore themselves apart as the crazed soldiers suddenly bulked up with muscles that grew so fast and hideously that their skins would tear themselves into pieces and all that were left were two dozen crazed murderers who bled from every fibre of their muscles. They would go into frenzy, and they turned on their fellow soldiers.

Slaughters of unimaginable terror followed quickly as the crazed soldiers tore their comrades apart with their bear hands, where claws and sharp protruding bones quickly appeared. These insane creatures died more quickly as they had appeared, either by the soldiers nearby who chose to kill their crazed former-collegues than die themselves or by their own bloodlust that eventually consumed them and they tore their own skull out.

Similar battles raged all around them, and each time the daemonic armies of the North fired such horrible weapons, the King's Army gained ground but lost men and moral. The armies of the North retreated with each victory, and though the commanders of the King's Army were wary of such retreats by the victors, they pushed on. However, by being at the rear of their armies, these commanders failed to hear one thing that was frequently heard in the frontlines. Two phrases that now brought fear... no... brought TERROR into the hearts of men...

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!

SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!

* * *

><p>The King was not pleased.<p>

The war against the North was not going well. His half million strong army had lost nearly one hundred thousand men within a month and his forces had made only small dent in the enemy's willingness to fight. The original plan was to overwhelm the North and the Duke's supposed army of three hundred thousand men. The spies had informed the King of the Duke's growing strength but the best estimate of the northern army was three hundred thousand at most. Of course, most of that army would be professional soldiers who had fought the feral Orks of the north, but the King was certain of overwhelming victory. After all, outnumbering an enemy by two hundred thousand would be enough to force the Duke to come to the negotiating table after a few victories by the numerically superior army of the King.

Then, something else happened. Every one of King's spies in the North had disappeared, and by the time King's Army had assembled and marched, the North was ruled by a self-imposed Lord of the World called Judanus. The name was unfamiliar and the King and his council of war were unable to get any more information on this Judanus. This failure to take into account of such unexpected factor was critical in subsequent defeats. The rumors and talks of heavily armored murderous giants massacring through the ranks of the King's Army had spread falling moral across entire army. This was completely unacceptable.

Something had to be done, except that unexpected problems arose all around them.

The King had called back this entire loyalist Dukes to discuss the problems that seemed to have suddenly sprung out all around the Kingdom.

The nobles at the giant table were silent, as were those who were not quite important enough to have a seat at the table. The King, looking like a man in 40s with little more grey hairs, particularly aging faster since he was now forced to ration his Rejuvent when all connection to the Tower of Enginseers had been severed. Dukes were of similar situation, and they were desperate to break the North and reestablish the relationship with the Tower.

The King slammed his fist on the table.

"None of you have any ideas? Even as we speak, entire armies of madmen are tearing apart our armies. The casualties have finally reached one hundred thousand men. We have lost countless knights and their equipments, cannons and even the heavy armors of the elite footmen. Crossbows don't come so cheaply either."

One of the Dukes, the Duke of Devis, one of the few nobles from the West, though his affiliation was always with the King rather than the Duke of Verin, the most powerful noble in the West.

"My King, the factories are now working day and night to produce the materials for the war, and we have been preparing this war for almost five years. Even as we speak, the entire realm is devoted into recruitment and training of soldiers and endless streams of carts carrying weapons are arriving."

The words were reassuring but the truth was not. The King was not amused.

"I care not for your flattering words, Devis. You know as well as I that the 'entire' realm is not actually mobilizing for war, let alone actually recruiting or training more soldiers."

Duke of Lakala, another Duke from the West, though he was more often considered a man from the Central, since half of his realm did reside in the Central, including his capital.

"My liege, I believe that we must face the facts."

The King turned his head.

"The fact, my good Lakala? Very well, let's face the facts and speak the truth. In a war, truthful and honest assessments of enemies and us are a must."

Lakala noticed a little distaste in the King's voice, but he was a soldier, and a good soldier had to see the war without clouded judgement.

"My King, the situation is direr than we have previously assumed."

Other nobles quickly raised their voices denouncing the Duke's comment, hoping to gain favor from the King through flattery of his leadership and the might of his realm. They were assuming the situation wrongly.

"SILENCE!"

The room fell quiet.

The King narrowed his eyes, and then nodded to the Duke of Lakala.

"Speak, Lakala. I will hear your words and I shall make the decision whether your words are truthful."

The tension was palpable.


	22. Chapter 22

I own nothing that is not original...

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><p>I will now begin writing the next chapter of Stargate: Galactic Imperium...<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 22<strong>

Duke of Lakala broke the tension and spoke in an earnest tone.

"My King, though we have only lost one hundred thousand men within mere weeks, this is but the start of a far greater and far serious problem."

"Oh?"

"As you know, my King, my great great great grandfather had married Lady Voreth."

The King frowned at this explanation.

"This affects our situation how?"

Seeing the impatience in the King's face, the Duke quickly summarized.

"The House of Voreth, now extinct save through my line, was the one of the last families of Remembrancers."

The King remembered, and so did others. The Duke continued.

"As the last heirs of the House of Voreth, I inherited six devices that could draw instant pictures. I believe that the history books call the 'foto-grafs'."

An aged noble nodded.

"I have read of these foto-grafs... Instantly draws exact picture of what is happening right in front of the devices."

"Exactly. Upon the destruction of four cohorts of my men, I had let my third son to take one of these devices to the next battle to take pictures of the battle."

Everyone was now interested. So far, all their battlefield reports were unbelievable since they all contained words that did not make sense. Even the officers talked of 'giants in armor' or insane groups of strange soldiers chanting their worship of 'corn'. Why these madmen would worship only moderately important grain was beyond the high command, but now that they had the pictures, they would finally be able to make accurate assessment of the war. The King's mood lightened up.

"Quick then, my good Lakala, show to us these pictures."

"Of course, my lord."

A bunch of large papers, quite thick but strangely shiny on the surface, was brought out. They were passed to the King first, then after a while, they got around the table. There was nothing but silence and deep groaning. The King swallowed hard as he tapped one of the pictures.

"Is this accurate?"

"Yes, my lord."

"What are these... giant monsters?"

Everybody was silent. Then Duke of Lakala spoke again.

"I had sent copies of these pictures to my first son back in Lakala so that he may delve into the books of our family in the hopes of finding something... and..."

The King noticed the hesitation.

"You have found something on them."

"Yes, my King."

"Speak!"

The Duke breathed in deep, and handed a document of several pages to the King.

"They are either Adeptus Astartes, the legendary Space Marines, who had come with our ancestors aboard the star-ship, or they could be... 'Chaos Space Marines' as the book tells us."

The nobles began to murmur with concern. The King was concerned more.

"Space Marines... They are just myths made by our superstitious ancestors who were enthralled by the technologically advanced Enginseers. Most likely, they are giant war machines acting like any of their infernal contraptions. These 'Chaos Space Marines' are merely the evidence that the Enginseers have made a pact with the North, and they are assisting the traitorous Duke with their finest weapons."

The old noble, Count of Oberan, who was also the foremost scholars of histories, spoke out.

"My King, I advise that you take these Space Marines and the threat they pose with greater concern."

"Why?"

"They are real, my lord. I remember reading as a young man of these Space Marines. My family descends also from a Remembrancer. Particularly, the Remembrancer Etolgae, the Documentarist. He had made detailed records of the early wars of our world, including the participation by the Space Marines.

My King, the records indicate that there were indeed Space Marines who survived the destruction of the star-ship. They had helped our ancestors in driving out the barbarians and the early incursions of the northern Orks. However, their numbers are few, barely more than a dozen, and they are asleep in an eternal slumber deep under the Tower of Enginseers. In fact, these Space Marines seems to be the master of the Enginseers, not the other way around."

The King did not approved of his words being challenged but words of Oberan could not so easily be cast aside.

"What of these Chaos Space Marines?"

"I have also read of them, my lord, though information on them was difficult to locate. If I remember correctly, one of the oldest records, one supposedly written during the decade spent aboard the star-ship, the Space Marines had treacherous brothers who had fallen into the seduction of the Ruinous Powers, the daemons and the like."

The word 'daemon' made more sense to the nobles.

"So, the daemons are real, and these Chaos Space Marines are them?"

"No, my lord. The Space Marines are powerful warriors of the Emperor, but it is implied, that these Chaos Space Marines have fallen from grace, and they have made pacts with daemons."

"Corruption!"

"Yes, my King."

The nobles were silent again after seeing the King brood so deeply. The King raised his head and looked at the nobles sitting at the table.

"Any suggestions then? How should we deal with these Chaos Space Marines, if they are, as the name suggests, evil twins of the Space Marines, who, even I remember, as the 'mightest warriors in the stars'. If those children's fables and nursery rhymes are anything to go by, these Space Marines, and their counterparts are certainly powerful individuals."

"How do you wish to proceed, my lord?"

The King stood up.

"We will not cower before myths! We are the heirs of proud houses! We are the Imperial Guard! I hereby order the Full Mobilisation of the Kingdom! From this day, let all know the might of the Kingdom and bow before me!"

"Aye, my King!"

* * *

><p>Count of Rilemas, the High Marshall of King's Armies in the South, was busy preparing for war, but not against the North. The huge fund given to him by the King was for the possibility of Ork invasion was now used up in building up massive armies for personal reasons of the Count. The Count had long wished to become a Duke, and though he was the single most powerful noble in the South, his domain was but a small piece to the massive landmass of the South. He had planned to move his impressive army out from the tiny nook of a domain that three generations of Counts have established eventually taking over the entire eastern coast of the South, meeting the border of the East and creating a narrow corridor to the Central.<p>

This move would have not only doubled the Count's land but would have given him trade routes that would earn him small fortunes every year. It would also grant him the naval ports that catch one of the main sea currents, which would allow his navy and naval trading to a new level. He would also gain vast wheatfields, at least nineteen mines of various minerals. These were all material gains he could obtain. The other gain would be the title and a knife in the King's throat. Once the Count's conquest is over, he would be able to send an army to the capital within matter of a week, and that would force the King to grant the title of a Duke to the House of Rilemas.

The Count and many of the 'enlightened' nobles of the South had long resented the King. It was the King who had destroyed four Duchies of the South and scattered the proud realms into hundreds of tiny squabbling pieces where minor nobles would fight each other for tiny fields of no real worth. Now, the Count and his comrades would rise up in a coordinated move to reforge the Duchies, or at least make new Duchies. The Count of Hebaras, the Count of Gailos, the Count of Ethmen have all agreed to this, and had been gathering strength over many decades, and they were finally given the chance when the King had drawn much of the strength from the Central and the East to fight the North.

It was truly unfortunate that the plans of these treacherous Counts had come to fruition at such ill-fated time. The high and mighty mountain range of Rilemas, which had long protected the County of Rilemas from the Orks in the far south with its rugged and sharp peaks and steep rocky slopes, had been conquered. The mountains and their inhospitable terrain were conquered not by men, but by the Zerg. At the western foot of the mountain range, now all covered in Creep, and two dozen Nydus Networks were constructed there. Ever since the Overmind had awakened from his long stupor to develop the Zerg into far more deadly creatures, Drones had rooted themselves all around the region, taking over the empty forests and marshlands still untouched by the humans. There, the Nydus Networks went to work and the Nydus Worms began to tunnel through the width of the mountain ranges.

It took a long time, and two new sets of Nydus Networks had to be constructed within the heights of the mountains themselves so that the Nydus Worms could rest during their tunneling. Eventually, the tunnels were ready and the lower mountains on the eastern side of the mountain range had the Nydus Worms sprouting their heads out from the ground. This particular invasion was not like that of Elric or Hargen. The Overmind knew that the Count of Rilemas had strong army ready for war. The Overmind was perfectly willing to sacrifice thousands of Zerg to test out his new improvements in a larger scale battles. Creep began to fill the valleys and Spine Crawlers and Spore Crawlers took root while Hatcheries were built anywhere there was flate enough space. Finally, Volran was ready.

* * *

><p>Volran arrived at the foot of the western side on his giant mount surrounded scores of Ultralisks and many lesser creatures. Though majority of his army was already on the other side, it was Volran who would lead the charge against the Count of Rilemas. The moment he came out on the other side of the mountain, Volran commanded his army to stride forth and attack.<p>

There was no subtlety to Volran, and there never was. Elric would have sent fast Zerglings and raid the countrysides and kill of small villages first. Hargen would have used Roaches and Hydralisks and air units to bring down the cities first. Volran did not care. He had the largest army out of the three by far. Nearly five thousand Zerglings, two thousand Raptors, four hundred Velociraptors, a thousand Baneling variants were just the beginning of his army. Roaches and their variants also numbered at least a thousand while Hydralisks also numbered so, but it was the presence of numerous Ultralisks that really made Volran's army into the mighty war machine that it was.

A dozen Omegalisks stood over the lesser creatures beneath their feet as if enjoying their role as the huge creatures of terrible power. While thirty Banelords, the long-ranged variant of Ultralisks began to spit out excess Banelings that were lost among the seas of Banelings, Gorgelings and Splitterlings. Then there were Ultralisks numberingly nearly a hundred. Their size and incubation period had meant that the Khaydarin crystals inside them had enough time to grow and split. The primary crystal was located in their brains, increasing both the higher level brain functions and their control over the lesser creatures. The two secondary crystals were located at the root of their main Kaiser Blades, allowing Psi Blade effect over the already powerful tusks. The Omegalisks, being even bigger and carrying two pairs of main Kaiser Blades, had four secondary crystals.

With such army, no one could stop Volran, and he knew it. His mission was simple. He was to overwhelm the County of Rilemas in such a massive and obvious wave that the Count would have no choice but bring all this army to combat the invasion. It would be a great test for both Volran and the new Zerg strains.

* * *

><p>On top of a battlement, five soldiers were chatting around the fire.<p>

"So, I said 'Bitch, if you don't come back here, I will beat the living lights out of you!', and you know what she said?"

The soldier with nasty scar on his face with truly brutish looks sneered as he told his story.

"What?"

"She said 'You talk all tough and all that but you don't have the guts to hit me!'."

"What did you do?"

The soldier with the scar cracked a smile so wicked that even his comrades flinched.

"I got my sword with the sheath on, and beat the shit out of her. She won't make a noise for a month."

The mysogny was disgusting, and though not all of his 'friends' agreed with the man's treatment of his third wife, they dared not say anything. He was the veteran soldier who had fought the Orks ten years ago. Even though his brutish manner had held him back from advancing in career, they all knew to stick with this man in the coming war if they wanted to live.

This faith in the man's ability and experience was misplaced indeed.

The soldier suddenly stopped talking.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"I think I hear flapping of wings..."

"A bird?"

The soldier growled as he stood up.

"Even birds sleep at this hour. What on earth is..."

The soldier could not finish his words. Something fell in the middle of the battlement right on top of the firepit. With a sound of explosion, green liquid splattered all over. Though the mysognistic soldier did not notice, his friends were almost instantly dissolved.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

The scream was so loud and prolonged that he did not even need to ring the warning bell, though the bell had melted through from the acid as well. The man's back had been sprayed with acid, and with hissing noise, the soldier's spines and bones were seen as the skin and muscles were dissolved, and tiny droplets of acid bore into the bloodstreams, further increasing the agony of the man. Finally unable to handle the pain, the body began to shut down, but not before the acid in his blood made his muscles to spasm and threw him over the battlement.

He was still screaming until the moment where his skull collided with the ground.

* * *

><p>The man did his duty though, albeit a little late. His scream had alerted the garrison of the fort. Rest of the one hundred men garrison poured out from their barracks with a variety of weapons from swords and spears to crossbows. They did not stand a chance, however. The Banelords fired their Baneling ammunitions over the wall and scores of men died from the acid shower while the Raptors and Velociraptors dropped from the Overlords that carried them.<p>

Yet, like the six villages before them, this fort was allowed survivors. As the Zerg were busy dismantling the fort to rubble, half dozen men had fled the scene, their eyes full of terror.

"What is this? We are at the even of our glorious conquest! I was about to give the order within days!"

"My apologies, my lord. The enemy seemed to have come over the mountains."

The Count seethed as he read the reports.

"Whoever, or whatever they are, they will die by the swords of my men. Send words. I want nine cohorts from Bodrein, Fedrein and Kenein to assemble at Delrok fortress and eight cohorts from Medrem and Welta to assemble at Delrok city."

One of the knights bowed and took the parchment where the scribe had written down the order. The Count then pointed his finger at a point on the map.

"I want half of my men in Relmus, Rilenus to assemble up here at Delan city just upstream of Delrok river. I am personally taking five cohorts and meeting them at the Delan city."

"Yes, my lord."

"That's thirty two cohorts and over thirty eight thousand men. It should be enough."

* * *

><p>~Finally! I thought the Count would never move his lazy ass.~<p>

I looked peered down from the Overlords and Overseers as the armies of the Count began to assemble just as Volran headed south and cleared out nearly thirty villages and two cities. The deathtoll of humans reached nearly ten thousand, not including the children that ship constantly shipped out from there.

~Volran is doing well. Let's see...~

Elric was venting the artificial rage I planted in him against the poor villagers and the Baron's domain. Almost all of the rural areas have fallen and only the Baron's castle remained, though that was left alone for specific reasons.

Hargen was also progressing splendidly as he quickly established Nydus Network to link with the primary network on the peninsula and had begun the construction of three Hatcheries while continuing his assault upon the hapless domain of the Count of Hebaras.

I had no intention of letting the Counts of the South to rebel against the King, which would certainly distract the King from fighting the Chaos Marines to exhaustion. I wanted them to fight until they had nothing much left, and by that time, I would have solidified my control over the South. Then I would pour out millions of Zerg upon them all.

All was good.


	23. Chapter 23

I own nothing that is not original...

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><p><strong>Chapter 23<strong>

"My King, there are messengers from Duke of Verin awaiting an audience with you."

"Hm?"

The King paused reading of a document.

"Verin? Why would he send me an emissary?"

The knight shook his head.

"I do not know, my King."

"Bring them in."

The knight paused.

"My lord..."

"What is it, sir knight? Speak!"

"One of the messengers is a huge giant with heavy armor."

Something flashed in the King's mind.

"Chaos Space Marine here? Or..."

"Your orders, my King?"

The King stood up.

"Tell them that I will see them in half hour."

"Yes, my lord."

The King turned to his Royal Guards.

"Go and bring me my Storm Troopers from their Royal Barracks. I want every one of them fully armed and assembled here within fifteen minutes."

"Yes, my King."

Still concerned, the King headed to his room, where he opened a small safe with a special key. He took out a couple of objects from the safe and returned to the throne room, and he did not forget to wear the Carapace Armor of his ancestors.

* * *

><p>It was not very long before the emissary and the giant in armor strolled in. While the emissary, a minor noble the King did not recognize, was sweating and nervous, the giant coolly looked around the throne room. The emissary handed the rolled letter to the Lord Chamberlain. The Chamberlain opened and inspected the letter before presenting it to the King. The King, staring at the Space Marine, slowly read the letter before his face went red with rage.<p>

"What is this?"

The King's frowning face was filled with terrible anger just as his fingers crushed the letter of declaration in his hand. As if responding to the King's rage, heavily armed Imperial Guard Stormtroopers, the last vestige of the orginal Stormtrooper corp. On the each sides of the King's throne, twenty five soldiers appeared, and on the sides of the throne room also appeared fifty Stormtroopers each. One hundred fifty Hellguns pointed at the two people below the steps to the throne.

"That is as it appears."

A gruff manly voice replied in deep baritone. Of the two men, one of them was a middle aged gentleman in frivolous clothing with some pieces of armor, while the other was not like a man at all. The three-meter tall Space Marine in his splendously painted Power Armor. Purity Seals and various honor badges gleamed with pride upon the armor as their owner stared at the King with unblinking gaze.

The King was not pleased.

"So... You are one of the Space Marines who landed along with our ancestors."

"Yes."

"It has been five hundred years. You think just because you 'command' that I will give up my entire kingdom to fight this... 'Chaos Space Marines' with your methods? Did you really think that I will allow myself, or my armies to take order from the likes of you, particularly when you have incited a major rebellion during a time of crisis? The Duke of Verin, your 'slave', has raised an army of nearly a hundred thousand soldiers and oppressed twenty three lesser nobles into withhold their troops to the cause of their King! I already have a war against these 'Chaos Space Marines' and I will not let some upstart like you and Verin to take over my war and my kingdom!"

The Space Marine simply stared at the King. The King was a strong man, and the Space Marine sensed it. The giant war-monger finally answered.

"You will submit your kingdom and your army to me and my brothers because you claim that you serve the God Emperor. I am a Space Marine, the sons of the God Emperor and Emperor's Finest. You will heed my commands or you shall see your precious kingdom shattered to pieces."

That really pissed off the King.

"You dare threaten me? I can so easily kill you right here."

The Space Marine made a cold sneer on his face.

"You can try."

The King took out an ancient looking boltpistol from his side.

"I assure you, 'Space Marine', I can so easily kill you, no matter how thick your armor is."

The Space Marine's eyes surveys the soldiers. He was prudent enough to not to raise his bolter and shoot the King.

"You are a fool to make an enemy of us. You should have joined us against a common foe. Now, we will consider you a heretic, and show you no mercy."

The King roared as he pointed his boltpistol. However, the Space Marine was prepared. He pressed a switch and grabbed his companion by the shoulder. With a flash of light the Space Marine and the emissary from the Duke of Verin disappeared. The King was surprised at the technology he never had known, but his rage did not dissipate.

"Call my loyal Dukes!"

"Yes, my King!"

* * *

><p>"Fire!"<p>

Hundreds of crossbow bolts rained down on the armies of Chaos. Struck down by such deadly arrows, scores of Chaos Cultists died, but they were just a small part of the whole. Another group of Cultists charged forward, firing their crude pistols that fired lead bullets. These were short-ranged and not really effective but they were enough to slay many soldiers of the King. The King's Army retaliated by sending the gunners to the front. Their crude flintlock rifles fired their own lead balls. The King's Army always outnumbered the Chaos forces, and this had allowed them to match the lack of advanced weapons.

The back-and-forth fighting continued between various ranged troops of both armies, though the Chaos forces were gaining ground every time their leader rushed forth with his chainaxe. The Chaos Marine of Khorne, though not quite a Berserker, was a terrible foe to fight, and the ranks of King's Army fell easily before him. His bolt pistol, fused with power of Khorne and that of Warp, spewed forth bolt rounds sheathed in nightmarish crimson flames. Each bolt exploded with shrapnels so powerfully thrown that King's soldiers were mowed down by the pistol alone. Yet, the worse attack was that of the chainaxe. The teeths of sharp metal spun so fast and so corrupted by the Warp that they crackled with raw power of Khorne. The crackling aura literally bled fresh blood, and each time the weapon slashed through the soldiers, they fell with their blood drained from their bodies.

"BLOOD FOR KHORNE! TO WAR WITH YOU! TO SLAUGHTER!"

The victory of the Chaos army here in this valley was almost a sure thing. There were a dozen knights still attempting to rally the men, while the crossbowmen and the flintlock gunners were already wiped out. Spearmen and pikemen were now numbered less than a hundred, from the original eight hundred, and two hundred swordsmen with steel armor were fighting against the three hundred Cultists. Fresh number of Cultists began charge down the low slopes. The hope seemed to leave the soldiers of the King.

Then a voice was heard.

"For the EMPEROR!"

The Chaos Marine Aspiring Champion looked up at the source of the voice with his corrupted bolt pistol half raised. He barely had three shots squeezed out when six accurate shots of bolt rounds struck him. The Chaos Marine's left arm exploded in the middle by two rounds, letting the hand and the pistol to drop to the ground, and three rounds exploded on the right shoulder pauldron, making the Chaos Marine to stagger. The last round struck the thigh of the Chaos Marine, making it harder for him to regain his footing. Then down came the power axe.

Bzzzing!

The power axe came down with force that the Chaos Marine almost could not block it. His hand swung the chainaxe and parried the blow at the cost of taking a step back and his right arm stretched too far to left. The Space Marine had pointed his boltpistol at the Chaos Marine's stomach at that exact moment and fired off three shots that exploded inside the power armor. The Space Marine with jetpack did not show any mercy.

"AAARGH!"

With his guts exploded outwards, the Chaos Marine stumbled backward, even his superhuman body unable to withstand the sheer physical shock of three bolt rounds exploding in his belly. The Chaos Marine swung his chainaxe at the Loyalist Space Marine but with such damage afflicted in his body, the Chaos Marine's attack was not quite fast or powerful enough. The Space Marine easily evaded the attack and made a quick jab with the top stub of the power axe in the Chaos Marine's face. The attack stunned the Aspiring Champion and broke the nose. The blood exploded on his face, blocking his sight, and that allowed the Space Marine to make the fatal attack.

The power axe cracked apart the skull with such ease and then made its way down the Power Armor half way to the chest plate. Then the Space Marine kicked the body off his precious power axe.

"That is the fate of the traitors."

With that word, the Space Marine launched himself against the Cultists who were simply staring at the amazing flurry of attacks between the two super-human warriors. The power axe crushed its way through two heads and two chests while the bolt pistol fired six rounds that exploded six heads before dropping the magazine. The Space Marine then made a big swing at a particularly large Cultist and as the Cultist slowly fell with the power axe stuck in his chest, the Space Marine expertly reloaded his bolt pistol before snatching back his deadly melee weapon.

The counter attack did not end with one Space Marine.

"For the Emperor and his Space Marines!"

With a roar, at least three hundred well-armed knights on horses charged down the northern slopes, crashing into the confused Cultists. Long and sharp lances with dangerous-looking metal blades on their ends grated the ranks of Cultists into meat-in-pieces. Then five hundred equally-well armed and armored soldiers charged down on foot, with heavy shields and long swords. Once the knights on horses passed the Cultists, the soldiers cleaned up behind them. Long swords that were made of more than normal steel and sharpened beyond that of normal swords cleaved through the Cultists and their crude armor like glowing-hot knife through lukewarm butter. As the Cultists realized that their leader was dead, they began turn and run, only to be blocked by a hundred swordsmen and three hundred gunners with lasguns. Powerful laser pierced the flesh and bones, and slaughtered the retreating Cultists.

"Hurray! Our saviors!"

Such cries of hope rose among the ranks of the King's Army, who had faced near-annihilation minutes before. The knight commander of the army quickly rode forward to meet their saviors, particularly the large 'Space Marine' who killed the enemy leader.

"You there, sir. I would like to thank you for saving us, in the name of our King!"

The Space Marine did not remove his helmet, but nodded as his men began to form up behind him.

"Do you not speak our tongue, sir?"

The knight questioned again, sensing something wrong.

"Sir? Your men bear the crest of Duke Verin... I assume..."

The Space Marine spoke so abruptly, and so venomously, that the knight stopped in his tracks.

"Be silent, worm! I have not saved you so that you may extend your heretical life."

"I... I do not understand."

"You will now."

Before the knight understood, the bolt pistol was raised and with single shot, the knight's helmeted head exploded.

"What?"

"By the Emperor!"

The shocked outcries of the King's soldiers were heard then cut short as the hundred lasgunners appearing on both sides the valley fired upon the survivors. Behind the King's Army appeared another hundred swordsmen, each of them ready to block anyone from escaping. With the Space Marine in the vanguard of the charging knights, the Army of Verin crashed into the soldiers. The Space Marine ran faster than the charging horses, and he emptied his clip into the crowd of wounded soldiers and hacked them to pieces with his power axe. The knights followed the Space Marine with their lances skewering the survivors.

With the King's soldiers dead, the Space Marine slowly took off his helmet. The face of Sergeant Armanus appeared his expression grim and determined. Several knights came up to him.

"My lord, we have made sure that every one of these filthy heretics have been killed."

Armanus nodded.

"Very good, sir knight. You have done the Emperor proud. We shall shatter the bodies and the will of the traitors, and we shall scatter the hapless heretics like ashes."

"Yes, my lord."

"Come! We march again. I will not let a moment pass without a purposeful step."

"We follow you, Lord Armanus."

* * *

><p>The men of Verin headed off, leaving only the corpses behind them. Unfortunately, they did not get rid of all the survivors. One of the heads, chopped off by the power axe, flinched and opened its eyes. It was one of the knights, and his eyes rolled up as if he was in pain, despite the fact that his head was about a meter away from the neck. With a little squelching sound, several purple tentacles appeared from the edges of the eyeballs. With two small pops, the eyeballs were ejected and were replaced by glowing eyeballs that were clearly not human. The mouth opened and the teeth were replaced with tentacles with sharp clawed ends. There was a groan coming from the severed head with purple tentacles sprouting from it.<p>

"I... will not die like this... I must serve the Overmind further..."

With a great effort, the head picked itself up by the tentacles and began to roam. Its movements were purposeful as if it could see something. It roamed the field of corpses. Then it stopped in front of a dead man-at-arms. He was still alive but dying as he labored to breathe. There was a hole in his chest where a lasgun had struck him. It was a fatal wound. The roaming head moved over the man's faced and sat itself down right above the mouth, suffocating the already dying man. Few moments passed as the creature began to transfer itself from the head to the new body. This would not have been possible except for the enormous amount of souls absorbed by the Spyling.

Though it made no kills, it was close enough to suck in much of the residual soul energy, and actually absorb bits and pieces of souls that happened to cross the Khaydarin crystal's field of control. That energy helped to keep the Spyling to survive and evolve. It was now capable of moving to another host even if it had already transformed into a small brain-size entity. The dark purple ooz that made up the Spyling began to dissolve and absorb the brain and spinal fluids and then it filled up the hole in the chest and revitalized the heart. It took almost an hour to absorb all the memories, but it was finally able to control the body to stand up. After a pause, the Spyling in the new body began to walk toward where the corpses of Chaos forces lay.

Eventually, it found what it was looking for. The broken pieces of the Chaos Marine lay in a pool of blood. The Spyling lowered its body and sprouted tentacles from the mouth to smaple the various body parts and fluids of the Chaos Marine. Once enough samples have been taken and analysed, the Spyling strengthened its connection to the Overmind and sent over the data. After a quiet telepathic chat with the Overmind, the Spyling found itself a new armor that did not have a hole in the chest. Grabbing the bolt pistol from the fallen arm of the Chaos Marine, the Spyling blew off its own left arm, though the pain was no matter to the Spyling. This was a good disguise. Who can suspect a man who survived with his left arm blown off? The corrupted bolt pistol thought otherwise though. As soon as the Spyling touched it, it screamed as if in pain. The Khaydarin crystal began to slowly bleed the minor warp enitity possessing the weapon.

The Spyling immediately sent over the observation to the Overmind so that the Swarm could use this information to counter the daemons that they would eventually meet in the future. For now, however, the Spyling made sure that his wound was cauterized so as to make it believable about the survival of a lone man-at-arms.

* * *

><p>The war became far more complex. The Duke of Verin has raised a large army, and led by the Space Marines, that army struck the forces of the North and the King's Army. The armies of Chaos were surprised at the ferocious and well-planned attacks against them from an enemy they did not expect, while the King's Army was taken by surprise at the attackers who appeared to be allies until they attacked. The armies of Verin slaughtered both armies without mercy. They were well prepared for this war and against the Space Marines leading the armies of the West, the armies of the King fell easily, losing nearly thirty thousand men within first fifteen days.<p>

The forces of Chaos were also taken by surprise, though they had the advantage of having Chaos Marines. The problem faced by the North was that they lacked the troops to fight on two fronts. No matter how powerful Aspiring Champions were, Judanus did not summon them in such numbers to be a threat to him, which had meant that the loyalist marines could take care of the splittered forces of Chaos. Another problem that caused Judanus headache was the rivalry between the Aspiring Champions and different factions of Chaos forces. Judanus had expected it, but had thought the endless slaughter of King's men and constant victories would unite them under his command until his real army was ready.

The appearance of his loyalist brothers with large armies on their backs was not something he had expected. The defeats and losses suffered within the first two weeks of fighting began to fracture the fragile relations between the Chaos champions. Judanus had mostly summoned Champions of Khorne to lead the armies while sending Champions of Tzeentch as leash to some of the more unstable Khorne Champions. It was not long before the tensions got so much that a Champion of Khorne beheaded the Champion of Tzeentch sent by Judanus. The followers of the Tzeentch Champion, instead of submitting to the victorious Champion, rallied around the disciple of the Tzeentch Champion who immediately retaliated. The battle was short and brutal, leaving all the Chaos Champions in that army group as corpses. The army of nearly five thousand was reduced to mere eight hundred after that in-fightning.

Judanus could not risk bigger army groups to face similar fate when his plan was almost at its fruition. In order to settle down the Champions, Judanus was forced to send five of his eight bodyguards to keep an eye of each of the main army groups. The Rubric-like Marines were supported by heavily armed Cultists bound with a Horror of Tzeentch in their bodies. Thirty grotesquely mutated creatures clad in heavy steel armors and armed with lasguns and power swords were enough to subdue even a Champion of Khorne, since each Champion barely had more than a score of Cultists, and very rarely had another Chaos Marine to support them. As for the Champions of Tzeentch, Judanus placated them with wargears with daemons bound in them.

* * *

><p>The south end of the continent was now fully covered in fields of Creep so thick that a Zergling would burrow only to find itself still inside the layer of Creep instead of the ground. Dozens of Hatcheries were erected all over the region, which thousand of various Zerg creatures being spawned and burrowed all around them. Various genetic-base structures were also erected to provide fresh and clear DNA to the Hatcheries. Hundreds of defensive structures also dotted the land, with most of the defences being Spine Crawlers. The Spine Crawlers had evolved as well. Their deadly Impaler Tentacles now had feint aura of Psi Blade while their range increased a little as well. Their attacking rate had increased, and their movement speed as well as root and uproot speed increased.<p>

It was unfortunate for the Swarm that their attention had been solely focused to the north and most of the combat troops were channeled to support Elric, Hargen and Volran. This had left the plain-region just outside the peninsula very vulnerable. The location where the Zerg first fought the Ork horde was now the centre of the region where the Overmind had constructed an uber-Hive called the Alpha Hive. The Alpha Hive was a smaller version of the Omega Hive, though it was still constructed from more than one Hatchery. Three Hatcheries merge together and eventually grow into Alpha Hatchery, then Alpha Lair and then Alpha Hive. The Alpha Hive was a powerful structure and it grew a large Khaydarin crystal inside it, making it the hub of Zerg activity in the region. At least three more Alpha Hives were being constructed in the regions now completely dominated by the Zerg, but this Alpha Hive was the first.

It was against this first Alpha Hive that the relentless Ork horde would focus their attacks. With the Overmind preoccupied with the war in the north, this was also the first physical appearance of Alena the Queen of Blades, the Princess of the Swarm, the High Matriarch of the Zerg.


	24. Chapter 24

Well, here is another chapter. Sorry for the slow update. I'm afraid that my update speed will be very slow at least until January.

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><p><strong>Chapter 24<strong>

A huge Chaos Marine in dark blood-red chest piece with blood-dripping patterns on the forearms and thighs stared down at the field of corpses and death. With the black marking of Juggernaut drawn on his shoulder pauldron, it was easy to see that this was a Chaos Marine from Knights of Blood warband, who shared the name with a renegade Blood Angel successor chapter but of totally different nature.

Dedicated to Khorne, the warband had produced many maniacs who delighted in bloodshed and violence. This Chaos Marine was no different in that respect but this one had ambition. He was determined to become a great champion of Chaos and perhaps lead a Black Crusade against the hated Imperium where he would sleek his bloodthirst upon a thousand worlds. He had hacked and slashed his way up the ranks of his own warband, where his actions went too far even for their blood-crazed brothers. He was cast out along with few of his followers. Over the next several centuries, this Chaos Champion roamed the Eye of Terror looking for any chance for bloodshed and followers. His original bands of brothers have long perished in the endless pilgrimage of battles save one. This one was but an initiate of the warband, barely old enough to earn his first set of armor when he tore off the head of the previous owner. That was long ago, and now, the young warrior was a fanatical follower of the Chaos Champion and through centuries of brainwashing, he was as much a dedicated servant of Khorne as he was to the Champion.

Of course, the Champion had other followers over the years, but only this one, the Disciple, had remained with him. The Champion called himself the Blood Master, and he once led a small warband of nearly a hundred Chaos Marines. However, his fortunes had turned on him recently. A disastrous collision against Typhus, the Herald of Nurgle, and mere twenty of his Plague Marines had crushed the hundred-strong splinter faction. Nearly half of the Chaos Marines were killed by the bolters of the Plague Marines while the other half rotted where they stood or cleaved by the Manreaper of Typhus. In the end, the Blood Master and his Disciple barely managed to escape with three other surviving Chaos Marines and a handful of Cultists. Those who fell were quickly absorbed into Nurgle's side. As a punishment for losing so many Chaos Marines dedicated to Khorne to the hands of Nurgle, the Blood God sent Khârn the Betrayer against the Blood Master, who had been rebuilding his forces.

A dozen Chaos Marines and two Berserkers were sent to fight Khârn, only to be slaughtered by the great Champion of Khorne. The Blood Master and his Disciple managed to get away once again, this time aided by a Chaos Sorcerer who whispered lies and deceit into the ears of the surviving Cultists. When the Blood Master and his Disciple discovered the treachery, the Sorcerer had stolen many of the Blood Master's collection of Chaos artifacts and nearly all of the Cultists. Fleeing from the newly arrived Chaos Marines dedicated to Tzeenth, the Blood Master led his Disciple and a band of a thousand Cultists back into the Warp. It just happened that he heard of a minor Chaos Lord looking for some aid, and the Blood Master answered the call. Judanus received the Blood Master warmly and granted him fields of battles where he could fill his thirst for blood and followers. Within a short time, the Champion of Khorne tripled the original size of his Cultist forces, despite taking losses in battles.

After another bloody battle where he and his Disciple had butchered their way through the pitiful forces of the King, the Blood Master pointed out at the field of grass now turned into field of blood and mud.

"See here, young brother! Guts and blood of the pitiful foes flood the land, and all done by my hands. When time comes, we shall ride forth to wreak havoc upon the helpless fools who dare to think that they can stymie our path of carnage."

The ever-silent Disciple nodded in acknowledgement. The two Chaos Marines watched as three thousand Cultists sacrificed women and children in giant wells of blood decorated with skulls of the defeated. Such locations littered the countryside as the Chaos forces fought the overwhelming number of the King's Army, taking so many trophies from battles. The agents of Chaos were ready for war again. They had baited the enemy, and an army of nearly ten thousand had been marching toward this place, hoping to track down the Chaos Champions.

"The fools come! I can see them!"

The super-sight of the Blood Master showed him the flags and dust clouds from afar.

"Ready, my young brother! We war again!"

The Blood Master turned and saw a dozen Cultists behind his Disciple. The Blood Master grabbed the head of one and crushed it, and drank the blood pouring from the artery of the recently dead. Then he turned to another Cultist.

"Ready my men, slave! The enemy comes, and they will be here in less than half hour!"

"Yes... Yes, my lord!"

The Blood Master smiled as he put his helmet back on.

"Blood for the BLOOD GOD!"

Unfortunately, his Disciple did not answer, not only because he never spoke, but because something just exploded right under him.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Two purple explosions that showed the Disciple with liquid were followed by four green explosions. It took a moment before the stunned Disciple and his master realized that the lesser Chaos warrior was sprayed with acid. The explosion rattled the Disciple and the acid began to eat their way through his corrupted Power Armor. The Warp-infest parts tried to fight off the acid, but the acid was too powerful. Screams of souls gathered from the victims of Disciple's weapons was enough shred the minds of men, but his enemies were not men. The ground right in front of the Disciple exploded and a creature bigger than the Chaos Marine by at least half a meter appeared with all its terror.

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><p>The Hunter was the other variation of Hydralisk. If the Slayer was the adaptation specialist that can change its weapons and tactics to counter the enemies of the Swarm, the Hunter only had a single role. Just as the Velociraptors were designed to counter the deadly Genestealers as the high-damage melee creatures, the Hunter was created to emulate and counter another fearsome creature of the Tyranids: the Lictor.<p>

Unlike the Slayer, the Hunter was limited in its diversity in its evolution. It did not evolve into three-headed creature or anything. However, it was designed with the best imagination that the Overmind could come up with. In fact, the Hunter was going to be the first creature to possess powers and abilities seen in Protoss beyond the simple Psi Blades and Plasma Shields. Standing height at 3.5 meters with nearly double the thickness of a Hydralisk, the Hunter was an imposing creature with powerful carapace. Its carapace was about as thick as that of a Roach, but its composition was far more advanced. The carapace was made of five different layers. The bio-polymer that made up the majority of the primary carapace was added with the same sort of cellular-regeneration organelles as that of a Roach while the layer between the outer-most bio-polymer layer and the next one was made up of fatty tissues containing high percentage of silicon-based crystals along with little Zerg Khaydarin Crystals to affect it. The result was the dual-filter cloaking. The Khaydarin Crystals, morphed specifically for this, would bend the light and muffle as much sound as they can, while the silicon-based crystals would generate refractor fields several millimeters from the carapace, supplementing the inadequate cloaking powers of the Khaydarin Crystals in the same layer. The fourth layer of the five-layer carapace was made up of metallic compound with purer Protoss Khaydarine Crystal that allowed the main Khaydarin Crystals inside the creature to pump energy outward, forming a layer of Protoss Plasma Shield.

With such carapace, the Hunter was able to cloak, generate shield and regenerate fast. However, these were just a small part of the creature's true purpose. The offensive capability of this creature was so immense that the huge and mighty Ultralisk could not match it in the ability to kill a single creature. The two primary combat claws were large, hooked and serrated with Khaydarin Crystal buried at the root of the claws. These crystals were modified by the Overmind itself and used the Void as the primary psionic frequency, allowing the Hunter to use the Dark Templar's Warp Blade instead of Zealot's Psi Blade. Although the pair of primary combat claws was its main weapons, the Hunter's arsenal did not stop there. Two pairs of smaller claws protruded from its side, protracted and hidden, and designed for stabbing. These secondary claws were bound with powerfully coiled triple-jointed limbs that shoot out the claws like sewing machine making a fine stitch but each strike containing force of a Zergling's primary attack. Reaching nearly three meters, these secondary claws could swirl around to have an arc of 180 degrees, protecting the Hunter's sides and back.

Of course, the Hunter originated from the Hydralisk, and that had meant ranged weapons. The Hunter fired same spines as the Hydralisk, but the size allows the Hunter to carry two separate sets of firing muscles. Though it has limited ammunitions compared to the Hydralisk, the Hunter could fire the spines over longer distance at nearly 20% greater velocity. Another ranged attack is the Psionic Shockwave, very similar to that of a Protoss Archon. Fired from the separately fed tertiary Khaydarin Crystal, this attack is a rare option, but modified so that it would stun the target as well as dealing massive psionic splash damage. The Hunter can use this either as a method to stun the target before finishing it off, or use it against massed enemy to buy the time to hide again. Mixed with the baseline abilities like Burrow and Burrow Move, the Hunter was the ultimate assassin for the Swarm. Thanks to the tiny hooked claws along its tail, it was also faster than the Hydralisk and kept most of its speed even under the ground. That was the reason the Overmind wanted to use it and its brothers to take down the Chaos Marines, both as a test and to eliminate the leader of a Chaos faction army.

* * *

><p>The Disciple was no easy prey, despite acid eating up his armor all over the place and seeping on to his flesh. It was like the time had slowed, and everything moved slowly. The Hunter was rising from the ground, with broken bits of earth and rocks showering the creature from bottom-up, and its primary claws encased with crackling purple energy. The silent Chaos Marine had already begun a counter-strike. His hand, even as the gauntlet was being dissolved, held the handle of the Power Axe with a firm grip. Whisps of bloody mist began to form around the crackling blade of the Power Axe as the Chaos Marine made a strong swing from right to left, cutting inward. Neither the Disciple nor the Blood Master expected anything but a quick death of the alien creature, and they hoped to see the creature cleaved in two.<p>

That did not happen.

The Hunter had a big brain, and it used that brain very well. Possessing three separate frontal lobes and two parietal lobes, the Hunter immediately detected the incredible reaction by the Chaos Marine. Then its three frontal lobes assessed the situation and made decisions and predictions. The creature's left claw was lifted high enough that its crackling Warp Blade would block the Power Axe, since it knew that any part not protected by similar energy field would be cut through by the energy of the Power Axe. At the same time, one of the secondary claws on the creature's right side shot out toward the Plasma Pistol hanging on the Chaos Marine's belt on the left side. All the while, the left primary claw unfolded to skewer the Chaos Marine.

Clang! Crackle!

The Warp Blade of the Hunter's claw and the Power Axe met, and they did not give an inch against each other, and the the secondary claw knocked the Plasma Pistol off the belt, but the other primary claw failed to strike the Chaos Marine as he almost immediately spun on his right foot, evading the deadly attack. The Chaos Marine struck back, punching at the Hunter with his left fist, putting his weight and spin behind it. The Hunter was no fool, and just as the Chaos Marine punched, all four secondary claws shot forth at the Chaos Marine's left arm. Sharp claws of the secondary claws punctured through the weakened power armor and tore the left arm apart into pieces, but before the Chaos Marine could even scream or roar, the flaps on either side of the Hunters neck opened up and revealed rows of spines. Almost instantly, sixteen spines, each coated with Psi Blade energy field, punched through the helmet and chest plate of the Chaos Marine. With his armor weakened and compromised, the Chaos Marine did not stand a chance against such deadly attack. Three of the spines even made through the body and punched out on the backside, though none of them actually came out to the other side.

With sixteen spines stuck in his chest and face, with three of them stuck half way on the armor plates on his back, the Disciple gave a cursory glance at his master, hoping for a little aid. He was disappointed as he saw that his master was also combating similar creatures. Then his thought stopped just as the primary claws of the Hunter skewered his brain and primary heart. Gurgling blood from his mouth, the Disciple fell, his super-human physiology, centuries of experience and his dedication to Khorne failing him spectacularly against such foreign xeno.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the Blood Master was faring slightly better against his share of Zerg assassins. The moment he saw his Disciple being ambushed, he jumped into the air. Just as he expected, the ground under him exploded with green and purple acid, but his fortuitious evasion allowed only droplets to touch the sole of his armored feet. When he landed with a heavy thud, he immediately went into action and took out his Daemonic Power Axe that screamed insanely as it oozed fresh blood when activated. His left hand snatched up his Daemonic double-barrel Plasma Pistol, made especially by the Dark Mechanicum and stolen by the Blood Master from the dead hand of the previous owner. The moment his feet pounded the ground, three creatures exploded out from the ground. One looked like a giant beetle with two axe-shaped claws on its back and two others looked like the creature that the Disciple was fighting but smaller and weaker-looking.<p>

Fighting against a Roach and two Hydralisks were not much of a challenge for the veteran Chaos Marine Champion. The double-barrel Plasma Pistol fired its deadly ammunition against a Hydralisk whose head exploded into chunks of cooked meat. The terrible daemonic fire coursed through the Hydralisk's head and turned it into ashes before the creature fell down. The Roach and the other Hydralisk came at the Blood Master. The Roach fired its acid spray, and the Hydralisk slashed down with its claws at the Blood Master who sidestepped the acid. The coordinated attack failed when the Daemonic Power Axe slashed off the Hydralisk claws just above the human-equivalent of wrist. Smiling with glee behind his helmet, the Blood Master kicked the Roach, which was pushed back by the sheer impact, and in that moment, the Blood Master swung his Power Axe and split the head of the Hydralisk in half. Then as the creature slowly fell, he turned his pistol at the Roach and punched two large holes where its head should have been.

The problem was that the three creatures he just killed were mere distractions. The Hunter that just killed off the Disciple turned around to face the Blood Master just as another Hunter exploded out from the ground behind the Chaos Champion.

"Khorne does not care whose blood it is! All must die!"

The two Hunters roared and charged. With agility that surprised even the seasoned Chaos Marine, the creature that killed the Disciple nimbly evaded the twin bolt of plasma from the pistol while the other Hunter fired its spines at the Blood Master's arms, thinking to disable their prey. It was close, but the Chaos Champion evaded the attack. Then before he could formulate any move, the first Hunter made a powerful horizontal slash, impossible for Zerglings and Hydralisks. Thanks to evolution, the Hunter could make use of greater angles of attack, and this attack forced the Chaos Marine to step back just as the second Hunter slashed down. His brilliant move with the Daemonic Power Axe managed to parry the attack, but that was a feint from the Hunter. All four secondary claws dug deep into the Champion's stomach, where the Power Armor was the softest with all the grills and soft parts that allowed the armor to twist by the waist.

The attack was not fatal and the Chaos Champion only had his armor torn out, but the first Hunter had already fired its spines at the powerpack behind the Power Armor, slowing down the Chaos Marine. Before the ambitious Champion could react, both Hunters dug their primary claws into each of the shoulder pauldrons and pulled. With metallic screech, the shoulder pauldrons cracked and buckled, and half pulled out, hindering movements. In that moment, another creature climbed out from the ground. A large bulbous Infester screeched as it fired a concentrated burst of Fungal Growth specially modified for this purpose. A single pod crashed against the Chaos Marine's chest plate and the fungus quickly spread to hold the entire suit of power armor. It was only the immense strength of the Chaos Marine that allowed it to move, but it was still hindered. That tiny slowing of his movement was enough for the Hunters. Four lethal primary claws tore through the Chaos Marine's torso severing arteries, puncturing both hearts and the liver and bringing down the giant man to his knees.

As he gurgled blood and pain blinded him, the Chaos Marine still could not believe his defeat.

"Not... Not like this... I cannot die like this... I was supposed... supposed to die in a glorious battle in the name of Khorne... Not like this on a nameless planet fighting against a bunch of primitives... I was supposed to become... a Daemon Prince! I was... I was... I..."

Before he could finish speaking, his helmet was removed and a Spyling launched itself up the Chaos Marine's nostrils and into the brain.

"AAAAARRRGGGHHH!"

* * *

><p>Sir Cravan, the first human to be infested by a Spyling had been promoted as a commander and was heading a taskforce of a thousand horsed knights. He commanded his men to charge, and the Cultists of the Blood Master, finding their master gone and his Disciple dead, were in panic. They were easily crushed beneath the iron-clad hooves of war mounts. Sir Cravan was praised by the Count, also a Spyling, and was recommended to upper echelon of nobles for their approval. With this first victory, where the corpse of the dead Disciple was shown as their achievement, Sir Cravan was given a title and a fief. He became Baron Cravan, and became a commander of five thousand men.<p>

The Overmind approved. His plans were going well.

Then suddenly, something else happened.

His vast mind was alerted by something in the south! This was unexpected, and he initially thought it was nothing great until a flood of images was sent from a dying Queen.

* * *

><p>"WAAAAAAAGH!"<p>

The thundering voices of the Ork Waaagh! rang across the hills covered in thick Creep. Just beyond the forest where the edges had already died from the infestation of Creep, the small Zerg colony was constructed to keep an eye on the surroundings and possibly become the platform against the Orks in the inevitable incursion against the Orks of the far south. Of course, the Swarm did not expect the Orks to be the aggressor to this event.

The colony was rather small compared to the ones in the north, and smaller even to the minor colony built upon the first theater of war against the Orks. Two newly created Hatcheries were lined up nicely with a Spawning Pool, a Roach Warren and two Evolution Chambers shared by the Hatcheries. Protected by 21 Spine Crawlers and 9 Spore Crawlers, this colony had several holes where the Drones dug deeper into the grounds for minerals. In fact, the Overmind was so focused on the war in the north that the Queen of this colony had the full control over the colony. She ran the colony as a secondary source for minerals because of the hills contained rather large amount of iron in the soil as well as several veins of iron and copper. The Overmind did not order anything special and she only had a minor troop presence, so she was very focused on the acquisition of more Drones.

The Queen did not expect the desiccated trees of the forest to spew out an entire horde of Orks, fully armed and so numerous as to fill the horizon. Literally thousand of Orks rushed out spearheaded by thousands of Gretchens. Over two thousand Gretchens carpeted the ground while an Ork army nearly three times the number of Gretchens appeared right behind them, and unlike before, many of them were armed with advanced Ork weapons made by the Mekboys who joined the new Warboss. The Ork army was led by nine lesser Warbosses who had submitted to the might of the Warboss Bugklaw, and the great Warboss himself was riding on the only Looted Tank of the southern Orks. With him bellowing orders, the Ork horde charged.

The Queen reacted immediately. Her superior intelligence was powerful and fast enough to order an immediate counter attack so as to delay the Orks as much as possible. Her mind raced through various calculations of what may happen, and her intuition added its voice. She instantly reconnected to the direct link with the Overmind while arousing every Zerg unit under her command. Drones were safe enough under ground, but she needed to delay the incoming enemy so that she could buy some time for the Overmind to strike back.

Under the command relayed through one Overseer and eleven Overlords, just over two hundred Zerglings, nearly fifty of Raptor variants including eight Velociraptors, forty nine Roaches plus twenty or so Roach variants, just under a hundred Banelings and their variants shot out from the ground. They were supported by twenty one Hydralisks and an Ultralisk, as well as few air units, including two Brood Lords. The Queen had the knowledge and memories about the Zerg's first encounter with the Orks, and that showed the lack of anti-air capabilities in the feral stage of the Ork development. She made her first mistake there. Unlike the Orks that fought the Zerg before, these Orks were united under the banner of one powerful Warboss and all the scattered Mekboys and Big Meks were under a single leadership with a single goal.

Brood Lords descended from the up high behind the clouds and a Corruptor, seven Mutalisks and just over twenty Scourges appeared. They were decended enough to acquire targets, ready to tear apart the Orks. The Mutalisks went in first. From everything the Queen knew of the Orks, they would be very vulnerable to air units. This thought was immediately sent to the air units, and the Mutalisks swooped down from the air to utilize their short-ranged Glaive Wurm attacks. They had barely let a single shot of Glaive Wurms when the Orks Shoota Boys began to fire wildly into the air. The sky around the Mutalisks was suddenly thick with tiny metal ammunition glowing from the gunpowder or whatever propellent used by the Orks. Mutalisks were taken by such surprise, they could not evade anything. They were riddled with primitive bullets of Ork technology fuelled by the Waaagh! and the crudest technology that Mekboys would fabricate. Even the tough carapace of the Mutalisks was not immune to so many bullets fired so close. With fell screams, the Mutalisk exploded like most of heavier Zerg units. This was to preserve genetic information against enemies who might drain spinal fluids or take brain matter. Their internal self-destruction organ vaporized any pure genetic materials.

With the focus of the Overmind on the war in the north, the south had been neglected, but the Overmind was not like before. He did not panic like a human would. After all, a colony or two didn't really matter in greater scheme of things. He stepped up several projects and diverted the reserve forces meant for his three commanders.


	25. Chapter 25

Sorry for slow updates. A bit busy at the moment.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 25<strong>

"There is da fight! To Waaagh!"

At the roar of their Warboss, the Ork horde redoubled their speed and charged downhill. Against them, Zerglings numbering just over two hundred were sent along with Banelings, Roaches and everything that the colony's Queen could throw at the horde. Terrifying claws and deadly acid were ready to tear through the thick skins and heavy muscles of the Orks, while barbaric melee weapons and crude guns in overwhelming numbers greeted the deadly creatures.

Bullets from Sluggas and Shootas filled the air and the Zerglings were showered with them. Though individual bullets could not pierce the carapace of the Zerg, there were simply too many. Some random bullets would blow up an eye or two here and there and the wings on the Zerglings were clipped and shredded. Then the Gretchens met the Zerglings. With the average Zergling size grown larger, the Zerglings found it easy to tear or stomp through the waves of Gretchens, at least in the beginning. It was mere moments later that the sheer number of Gretchens began to overwhelm the Zerglings and some Gretchens even met Raptors and Roaches. These tiny creatures were mostly armed only with a crude knife, but there were so many. Some of the Gretchens jumped on to Zerg creatures with bombs strapped on their bodies. Giving no thoughts to their own deaths, the Gretches exploded, sometimes killing a Zergling though the bombs mostly wounded the Zerg.

However, the Zerglings slowed down because of the Gretchens and that loss of momentum was critical particularly considering how the Zerg were outnumbered there. As the Raptors jumped around stomping Gretchens and Roaches melted down scores of masses Gretchens, the Ork Boyz came upon the Zerg. Slugga Boyz with their Choppas and Sluggas roared with dreadful glee as them charged into the fray. Choppas severed Zergling heads and necks and legs while the Sluggas spewed down big chunky bullets were blasted upon the thick carapace, cracking the bio-armor. The Zerg fought back hard. Zerglings would form groups of two or three and jump upon an Ork Boy and would tear through the Ork with their claws and teeths. Raptors, led by Velociraptors, would leap into the dust-filled skirmishes and would slice through ranks of Orks, leaving tattered arms and legs, leaving the disarmed Orks to meet their deaths at the claws of other Zerg. Orks recognized the danger posed by the Raptors and fought back against them with Burnas. Crude flamethrowers of the Orks would spew fire upon the Zergs and Orks alike, but they did scorch several Raptors, slowing them down enough for the Shoota Boyz to shoot them down.

The counter against the Burna and Shoota Boyz were the Roaches and Hydralisks. Roaches and their variants leaped into the battle with no hesitation and they liberally dispensed their deadly acid upon the Orks. They would also swing their axe-like claws to cut down large foes so that their acid would melt them down easier. When the Burnas and Shootas began to appear from the behind the Slugga Boyz, the Queen ordered the Roaches and Hydralisk to counter them. Roaches remodulated their acid spewing mechanism to fire narrow but longer-reaching acid and they sprayed them against the Orks. The Beetles, a heavier variant of Roaches did not have the same level of range with their acid but they were slightly larger and had heavier armor, along with denser muscles for the claws. This allowed them to crash through ranks of Orks and Zergs, and opened clear path for other Zerg ranged units to fire. Meanwhile, Smokers did what they do best. They sprayed thick smog of acid that not only hurt the Orks, who were did not have the same mucus covering their exterior like the Zerg units, but the fog made it extremely difficult for the Orks to shoot.

That was not really a problem for the Shoota Boyz though. They never really understood the concept of 'aiming', and simply fired at the general direction of the enemy. A storm of bullets would rain into the smog, but after the first wave of bullets, which had left at least one Hydralisk blind and two Zerglings dead, the Zerg units inside the smog changed their tactics, which was a good example of how versatile Zerg could be. By the time the fog had dissipated, Shoota Boyz had killed nearly fifty Gretchens and six Boyz in their aimless spraying of bullets. Then the Zerg creatures exploded from beneath their feet. Shoota Boyz was not really equipped to handle heavy melee attack. This made it easier for the Roaches, Beetles and Hydralisks to cut them down with claws sharper than razor and gleaming with blue aura. Unfortunately, the valiant defence against the Orks was not going well.

There were simply too many Orks. Though the Roach & Hydralisk team had tore apart a dozen Shoota Boyz and several Burna Boyz, and the Zerglings had managed to slaughter almost a hundred Ork Boyz not to mention over a hundred Gretchens, there were still more Orks while the Zerg now numbered much less than a hundred. Another five groups of Shoota and Burna Boyz appeared along with several hundred more Slugga Boyz, and with several Nobz this time. Though screaming with defiance, the Zerg units relayed the situation to the Queen, who immediately ordered retreat. She needed to buy some time, and this first battle bought her the precious minutes. With her plan in motion, the Zerglings were first to retreat, their bodies being required to turn into Banelings. The larger creatures, including the lone Ultralisk that managed to slaughter over thirty Slugga Boyz and a group of Shoota Boyz, immediately burrowed underground and evaded the enemy. The retreating Zerg forces were covered by the two Brood Lords.

The Brood Lords fired their Broodlings at the Orks, and knowing that the Orks didn't have any weapons to hurt them, the two huge flying creatures focused all their attention into killing the Orks. Each attack by the Brood Lords fired two Broodlings, and they replaced them quite quickly as well. Sending the Broodlings encased in Psi Blade field, their attacks were deadly enough to halt the advances of the Ork horde as the Ork Boyz were delighted in fighting and killing the Broodlings. The Broodlings were fired at such velocity that an Ork Boy would die by a single shot. The damage difference between the new Brood Lords and original Brood Lords was so massive. The Broodlings would actually tear a hole through Ork Boys, and since a Broodling was almost as big as original Zerglings, the hole it leaves behind is massive, and because there are two Broodlings fired at a target, the target is quickly turned into a piece of meat with two large chunks cut out. Not even the tough Ork physiology could handle such damage. Even a Nob was killed by a second attack. Three large holes in the torso and half the head torn out were not something that even an Ork body could handle.

The Orks were not utterly helpless this time. At a bark from one of the lesser Warbosses, several individual Orks moved amid the horde. Carrying gnarled copper sticks, WeirdBoyz appeared among the sea of green. Then they looked up at the Brood Lord and fired Psychic Vomit. It was a disgusting-looking ability, and pillars of crackling green psychic energy sprayed toward the Brood Lord. The Brood Lords was beyond the range of the attack, but the nature of psychic attacks had meant that it was highly unpredictable. The Khaydarin Crystals within the large flying creature absorbed some of the psychic attack that reached the Brood Lord, but their capacity was quickly filled and remaining psychic energy was dispersed by the thin layer of Plasma Shield, draining the shield. Then the rest of the Ork horde responded. Lootas fired their guns and laser weapons up into the sky, while Rokkits flew up in groups of dozens. Faced with an incredible amount of resistance, the Brood Lord began to retreat as he felt some of the bullets and lasers hitting its carapace and eating away at its defenses. In fact, some of the Rokkits even hit the Brood Lord, sending shockwaves through the flesh. Roaring like an wounded animal, the large flier retreated, making the Queen seethe with rage at the Orks' offensive capability that had seemingly increased tenfold.

* * *

><p>However, all these counter-attacks had bought the Queen precious time. As the Ork forces halted to scavenge the remains of the Zerg units for their carapaced shells and deadly claws, the Queen had nearly forty Roaches hatch through Rapid Genesis, and only three of them had failed, allowing her thirty seven fresh Roaches to stymie the attack of the Ork Waaagh! until reinforcements arrive. She already knew that the Overmind had sent nearly five hundred Zerglings and numerous other Zerg creatures. Unfortunately, the Zerglings, as the fastest units in the Swarm's arsenal, were still nearly an hour away while the Orks were around 40 minutes away. It was the difference of 20 minutes that could decide the fate of this particular colony, and whether the path toward the Alpha Hive would open for the Ork Waaagh!.<p>

As the Queen prepared for battle and relocated Spine Crawlers in optimal positions behind various covers or up on advantageous positions, the remaining Zerg forces under her command prepared for the battle of their lives. Of course, only the Queen would survive this since her consciousness would be transferred to another body, but lesser Zerg were not so fortunate. With all 21 Spine Crawlers now positioned at their optimal positions, the Zerg could do nothing but wait. Meanwhile, the Queen exhausted her energy to spawn more Larvae, allowing nearly eighty Zerglings to be born through Rapid Genesis. Zerglings had the least failure rate for the Rapid Genesis thanks to their simple DNA.

The minutes passed, and the Ork horde finally arrived. The problem was that the Orks brought armored vehicles. Crude forms of half dozen Wartrukks carrying the Boyz were followed by a dozen Warbuggys. This tactic was not experienced by the Queen, and she panicked. She sent her Zerglings and Roaches to counter the fast-moving enemies but the Zerglings were either shot down by the twin-linked Big Shootas or crushed by the bullbars of the vehicles. Roaches were not fast enough to catch up with the Ork vehicles, but they did manage to spew some acid on several of vehicles. Unfortunately, the distraction only allowed the Orks to flank the Roaches. Thousands of Gretchens and hundreds of Ork Boyz of various classifications rushed upon the Roaches. The Queen was forced to send everything she had against the Orks, though she was sane enough to pull back the Roaches into the range of Spine Crawlers.

Once inside the range of their biological defense towers, the Roaches turned around to fight back, now supported by the long reaching spines. Like harpoons shot at whales, the Spine Crawlers flung their deadly Impaler Tentacles against the Orks, tearing large holes in their tough green bodies. Gretchens were quickly turned into mush at such attacks, but the Boyz and occasional Nobz were able to stand more than one hit from the spines. If he was lucky, an Ork Boy would lose an arm or a leg rather than his head. Of course, the second attack from the Spine Crawler was usually fatal either by making a large hole in the torso or crushed the head. A Nob would survive longer, mostly due to their tougher and large constitution but sometimes because they were fast and strong enough to block or parry the attack from a Spine Crawler. This was rare and even the Nobz were unable to withstand the sharp ends of Impaler Tentacles clad in Psi Blade.

The Orks were too numerous in the end, and even the Queen herself was forced into combat despite every unit under her command, even most of the Drones, were directed into battle. Her claws were sharp enough to pierce the thick skins and muscles of Orks, and she did not hesitate to tear her preys apart. Gretchens were crushed under her clawed feet while her attack claws slashed at the Ork Boyz while she also fired her attack spines. The evolution that allowed her to use spines against ground units at the same time as her claws had allowed her a greater combat prowess. Though stray bullets and occasional Choppas hit her carapace, she was tough enough to ignore them. Also, the retreated Brood Lord was right above her, and sent down its Broodlings to fight those around her. Surrounded by the Broodlings that ate away at the enemy, the Queen pressed on, sending her minions against the Orks so that she could kill just one more Ork.

The numbers began to take toll on the Zerg within minutes. The first casualty was the lone Ultralisk. Dozens of Rokkits exploded all over the Ultralisk as the smaller Zerg creatures were overwhelmed by the relentless green tide. Then one by one, Spine Crawlers began to explode to death as Lootas fired their Deffguns and some of the Stikkbombs were thrown at the Zerg defenses. The Queen fought valiantly but the battle was already over. The Queen fell at the hands of nine Nobz, who had hacked away at the Zerg Queen with their large Big Choppas and even though eight Nobz fell by the Queen, the large Orks were in such frenzy that the Queen could not survive. When the Queen died, the rest of the Zerg in the colony faltered.

Like the Tyranids and their Synapse creatures, the Queen was the brains of the operation, and though the Overlords that floated up high maintained certain level of cohesion among the creatures, they did not show the same kind of determination or tactical movements. Within minutes, rest of the surviving Zerg fell. Gretchens and Ork Boyz with greedy eyes dug into the corpses, hoping to rip our claws or carapace that they could arm themselves with. The choice bits were taken to the big Warboss Bugklaws, but there were enough claws to go around, at least for most of the Nobz. With the Nobz now armed with sharp claws taken from Zerglings or Roaches, the Orks roared in battle frenzy.

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><p>If I had a mouth and a throat, I would have growled in deep displeasure. Though my forces were vastly outnumbered, I was surprised at such quick defeat. I honestly did not expect the Orks to tech up. The last encounter with the Orks was against the feral Orks with very few guns. Now, the Orks even had a tank and many lesser vehicles. I had immediately diverted every possible resource that I could muster to prepare a counterattack. All reinforcements to Elric, Hargen and Volran were stopped and redirected to south where my Zerg forces began to pool in large groups. Travelling through the new network of Nydus Worms, nearly a thousand Zerglings have gathered, though more were coming as well as greater creatures.<p>

This distraction by the Orks had greater impact to the Swarm than I had originally expected. Elric, who had captured all six fiefs south of the river, was unable to press further as his forces were stretched over six castles that held firm against the Swarm. Elric's strategy of devouring the countryside and then pressuring the castles was an excellent idea if enough reinforcements, such as Ultralisks, had arrived to break through the castle defenses. Unfortunately, the thick stone walls built upon a deep foundation denied Elric's plans to infiltrate the castles by burrow-move. All Elric could do now was to lay siege upon the castles, though even that was hindered by the small number of Hydralisks.

Hargen was also in trouble. Though his forces, made mostly of fliers, took minimal casualty, the overall number was far too small to conquer all the fiefs he was assigned to conquer. He managed to try hit-and-run tactics and broke the backs of the local forces through destruction of castles and fortifications; the number of kills was relatively minimal as the people fled in all directions.

Volran also had trouble as his forces were utterly cut off, and some of the Zerglings were even forced to return back over the mountain. Though still possessing a cadre of nearly eighty Ultralisks and their variant and a pool of Hydralisks and Roaches as well as several thousand smaller Zergs, the domain he needed to conquer was much more militarized than those targeted by Elric and Hargen. Already, his forces have suffered casualty of nearly three hundred Zerglings from various skirmishes. Volran needed more footsoldier-level creatures now that he was about to collide with thirty eight thousand well armed soldiers. Even though the might of heavier Zerg units would certainly deliver victory, Volran recognized the need for Zerglings to scour the region. Without direct support of the primary Swarm, Volran was forced to use the half dozen Hatcheries within the mountain range.

I recognized their needs, but I needed to prioritize. After rerouting every reserve force I have to assemble and counter the oncoming Ork Waaagh!, I took the first step to eradicate the Ork problem. I began this by calling up Alena. It was high time that she play her role in the Swarm. It was on the perfect timing as well. Her growth was almost complete, and the moments of her overly active affection disappeared as more Zerg aspect began to take over her consciousness. Of course, she would remain that charming person when inside the collective mind but once in her new body, Alena would be a match for Kerrigan. Already, two large cocoons were pulsating right next to the Omega Hive. The large cocoon was for Alena while the smaller one would contain a new incarnation of Toby.

The gestation of the two would still require some time, and my reserve forces would buy me that time. I assembled the first generation of uber-Queen-variants. Three Patriarchs, designed as tactical field commanders for the Swarm, were sent to command the reserve forces. Each Patriarch was a powerful creature designed to be a more aggressive and offensive version of Queens. Operating with male-like consciousness, a Patriarch was armed with four large Psionic Claws with serrated edge dripping with the same acid used by the Corruptors in their Corruption ability. Also, a Patriarch also possessed unsually high number of Khaydarin Crystals, which allows it to do many things beyond normal Zerg powers. The primary manifestation of the crystals' powers came in heavy Hardened Plasma Shield, with the shield strength as strong as that of Protoss Immortal. With thick and powerful carapace and superior muscle and skeletal structure, ironically derived from Orks, a Patriarch has the toughness easily double that of a Queen. In terms of ranged attack, a Patriarch opens its back carapace and raised a tail with similar anatomical form as that of a scorpion's tail. At the end of the tail is a large Khaydarin Crytal, and the Patriarch fires Prismatic Beam used by Void Rays of the Protoss fleet. Given time, the Patriarch can channel energy through its four claws to reinforce the Prismatic Beam, very much like the behavior of Void Rays.

The Patriarchs were not the only commanders sent to hold the green tide. Five Matriarchs, being strategic field commanders and specialists in defensive maneuvers, were also sent. Though not as tough or with thick carapace, a Matriarch actually carries more Khaydarin Crystal than Patriarchs, therefore having nearly double the shielding, which regenerates at double the rate though it is not a hardened shield. A Matriarch is primarily a ranged creature, capable of firing psionically charged spines at incredible range, velocity and rate. Firing at double the rate of a Hydralisk, and firing nearly 10% longer than a Hydralisk, the Psionic Spines of Matriarchs are capable of slicing through thick armors before exploded in a cloud of acid and bone shards. While capable of fighting in melee with two Psionic Claws, a Matriarch prefers to hide behind her brood.

These two Queen variants were not simply larger and stronger versions of Queens. They had abilities that could easily turn the tides of battles. Not only their brains are wired for war, they can focus the incredible psionic energy pulsating within their bodies to create anomalies that devastate the enemies. Aside from the abilities of normal Queens such as Spawn Creep Tumor and Spawn Larva, both of them have the ability to channel the psionic energy to stimulate their special organs, which fires a Broodling Seed, which pierces even the most powerful armor or shield, and explodes into a cloud of acid, amid which four Broodlings are born. Unlike the ability of Queen before Kerrigan overhauled the concept, these new Spawn Broodling ability did not require a host, therefore, it could even affect fully mechanical foes. A Matriarch has more reserve psionic energy, so she can fired many Broodling Seeds in quick succession.

On the other hand, Patriarchs can use their energy to spew sticky green slimes like a net. This was another revival of the old Queens' ability to Ensnare the enemy and slow them. This Ensnare ability, however, was so powerful that even an Ultralisk could not move for nearly 30 seconds during the experimentation. Patriarchs could also cast Psionic Storms. This powerful ability of the Protoss Templars was reformulated for the Zerg. Knowing that the Psionic Storm is basically frying any brains or circuits through enormous amount of highly agitated psionic energy, I changed the ability so that Zerg creatures under the influence of the casting Patriarch, thereby sharing the mental frequency, would be unharmed by the Psionic Storm, while that modification actually made the Psionic Storm more deadly to other living creatures.

I was confident that my Patriarchs and Matriarchs would do fine to halt the Orks.

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><p>By the time Orks had divided up the spoils of war, the Zerg's first counterstrike force was ready. Joined by the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, the huge Zerg army moved southward. Nearly two thousand Zerglings and four hundred Baneling variants were backed up by numerous Roach variants and Hydralisks as well as Mutalisks and Brood Lords. At least two hundred Mutalisks swarmed the skies above the Zerg army with a dozen Guardians and as many Brood Lords floating high above the Zerg forces. Confident in their numbers, the Zerg army began to move further south, where five hundred Zerglings had already entrenched themselves in the Orks' path.<p> 


	26. Chapter 26

The usual disclaimer: Starcraft & Warhammer 40K are not mine. I make no money off this...

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><p>Reply to Aklyte's review: Thanks for the heads up. I flipped through the Tyranids Codex again and had a little thought about it. Zerg will evolve into larger, more ferocious creatures who can also use some technology.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 26<strong>

The Orks felt first real resistance when a hundred Zerglings struck from the side. The Ork Waaagh! had punched through most of the static defenses between the first destroyed colony and the Alpha Hive of the South. Unlike before, where a single Queen organized the defense of a single colony, the Matriarchs played a larger game. Their goal wasn't even the protection of the Alpha Hive. The Alpha Hive could be rebuilt, but the destruction of the Waaagh! would stop any more carnage. In order to delay the Waaagh! enough to mount a real defense, the five hundred Zerglings that went ahead were divided into five groups of a hundred Zerglings.

Guided by Overseer beyond the clouds, the Zergling taskforces made series of quick hit-and-run strikes, carefully eroding away at the exterior of the Waaagh!. At each strike, scores of Gretchens and Ork Slugga Boyz fell to the fast-moving Zerglings and their sharp claws. The Shoota Boyz fought back and fired their crude bullets at the Zerglings, but they could kill or wound only a handful of Zerglings at a time, and if an wounded Zergling is still alive and functioning to a degree, they would burrow underground, leaving no traces. While burrowed, the wounded Zergling would heal and burrow-move to rejoin its brothers.

As the Ork Waaagh! moved further north, the repetition and ferocity of these strikes began to increase, then different Zerg creatures began to join in on the strikes. Roving bands of Roaches burst forth from the ground and fired their deadly acids while Smokers hide their comrades. When the Orks moved to attack the Roaches, the Roaches would burrow-move to another location just as a Zergling strike force would hit the Waaagh! on the other side.

Warbands of Orks began to falter as the repeated strikes began to take toll on them. By the time Hydralisks and Mutalisks began to join the strikes, individual Ork Warbands were in disarray. Unable to withstand the increased attrition damage, the Warbands began to gather once more. Instead of moving in dozens of smaller yet faster Warbands, the Orks were now banded into three large groups, moving much slower than they would do in smaller groups.

The largest of the three groups was the Warboss Bugklaw's War Horde, numbering nearly two thousand Orks and several hundred Nobz. Bugklaws's horde had grown larger since the first battle, as more Orks came to join him in this new Waaagh!. The other two large mobs, led by minor Warbosses Skarskull and Badchoppa, also numbered nearly a thousand Orks each, and they stayed within a reasonable distance from Bugklaw, so that the Zerg' lighting strikes did not break the cohesion of their Waaagh!.

The Zerg's counterstrikes became more deadly and savage with each passing day. Ultralisks were seen, carving their way through scores of Boyz before burrowing underground and disappearing, which left the Orks in panic and frenzy, only to be showered with the spines of Hydralisks. When the Orks turned to attack the Hydralisks, Zerglings would pop out from the ground to hack and slash at the Orks. Then suddenly, the Zerg would burrow again, and disappear. Then about an hour later, Mutalisks would shower down their Glaive Wurms, and as Shoota Boyz turn their guns upward, Roaches would appear around them.

Whittled down by the ruthless and efficient strategy by the Matriarchs, who personally managed each set of strikes, the Orks began to falter in their steps. When the Waaagh! came to a crawling stop, the infighting began to show. Skarskull and Badchoppa, the two large Warbosses with enough Boyz under them to threaten Bugklaw, soon made a bid at the big seat. Boyz began to hack at each other with Choppas and loud sounds of Shootas were heard all over the Waaagh!. It was only the leadership and power of the Warboss Bugklaw that returned the Orks back under control.

"I da only WARBOSS!"

Roaring with rage, the huge monster of an Ork stomped his Power Klaw with a Nob's head held tightly in the grip. The Power Klaw was fused with Hydralisk claws, making it more deadly than the average Warboss' Power Klaw. The Power Klaw was on his left hand, and on his right hand, the Warboss carried a large bladed-mace made from the claws of Roaches. Eight Roach claws were positioned in a circle, and anything that got hit by this weapon would surely die.

With Shootas mounted on his shoulders, the Warboss Bugklaw charged toward the Warboss Badchoppa, the Ork who dared to challenge him. Ork Boyz were fighting Ork Boyz all around them, and the Warboss Bugklaw slammed his bladed-mace at the Warboss Badchoppa. Badchoppa blocked the attack by grabbing a Boy nearby and throwing it at the attack. Then Badchoppa lifted his giant scimitar and slashed at Bugclaw only to have his weapon caught by Bugklaw's Power Klaw. The rebellion was quickly put to an end with the blade-mace turning Badchoppa's head into a mush.

Yet, the devastation of the civil war made an impact on the advance of the Ork forces. They had come to a complete stop. Though Badchoppa was quickly put to death by Bugklaw, Skarskull was still alive and kicking. The two sides waited for the other side to make the move. As this was happening, Matriarchs positioned their forces to surround the Orks. The ability to burrow-move gave the Zerg incredible stealth capability to position the troops into perfect ambush sites even amid the enemy forces.

By the time Bugklaw tore through Skarskull's waist and cleaved him in two, the Zerg were ready to make a really substantial strike against the invading Ork forces. The steady stream of Ork reinforcements from the jungles in the far south had been severed. Small convoys of Orks made up of mere scores of Boyz and Gretchens were nothing to the Hydralisks and Roaches in perfect positions. Without further reinforcements, the infighting had weakened the Ork forces enough for Zerg to attempt this gamble.

Zerg popped up from the ground all around the Ork horde. The air was thick with acid and spines, and the Orks rallied to face the attackers, only to have the attackers disappear back into the ground. The Orks fired their Sluggas and Shootas at the ground in a futile gesture, but the only answer was another group of Zerg popping up on the other side of the Ork forces. Nobz screamed at the lesser Orks to turn and attack the new attackers. So, the Orks turned around and rushed to the other side.

This time, another group of Zerg appeared on a totally different direction. The Orks changed their heading and moved to intercept, only to have them disappeared and another group of Zergs appearing somewhere else. This game of wac-a-mole was a devastating strategy concocted by the Matriarchs in facing an enemy whose number and ferocity was equal or greater than the Swarm. After a while, even the relentless Orks began to tire and they grumbled and complained at not being able to kill the 'bugs'. Instead, the Orks had suffered rather incredible casualties. Hundreds of Orks and many of the Gretchens had fallen.

Then the Patriarchs moved in. Three large groups of Zerg, including Ultralisks, and consisting mostly of Roaches and Hydralisks, exploded from the ground and launched a synchronized attack on the Ork horde. Led by Patriarchs and their incredible combat ability and their superior tactical assessment, the assault groups of the Zerg made a devastating strike against the Ork horde. Ultralisks tore through the green wave like an oil tanker parting the waves. Blood rained upon the Orks as the mighty Kaiser Blades encased in Psi Blade simply sliced their way through the tough muscles and thick skins and bits of armor.

Roaches followed closely behind the Ultralisks, their axe-like claws making large dents in the Ork ranks. There were simply too many Orks for the range attacks to be useful, so the Roaches simply hacked their way into the horde. Behind them were Raptors led by Velociraptors cleaning up behind the Roaches, slaying wounded but surviving Orks. Hydralisks remained behind, slowly moving in a line formation, firing their deadly spines at any Orks they encounter. With the Hydralisks were the Patriarchs.

The Patriarchs were truly terrifying creatures in combat. Their four deadly claws, made clear kills with each strike, the powerful psionic energy encasing their claws being more powerful than that encased the Kaiser Blades of the Ultralisks. The simultaneous firing of spines also made short work of Shoota Boyz who dared to turn their crude guns at the Patriarchs. The most devastating attack by the Patriarchs was the Psionic Storm. They let those loose among the highest concentration of Orks.

Explosion of psionic energy that culminated in terrifying lightning storms tore through the Orks. Their brains exploded as their primitive brains could not handle the overloading of synaptic impulses between neurons. Their spines became bloated as the nerve cells in the spine began to cook and boiled the spinal fluid within seconds. Within seconds of Psionic Storm passing over them, Orks died in scores if not hundreds. Then, as if this was only a diversion, the Patriarchs retreated, their forces going underground and removing themselves from the battlefield.

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><p>~Wow... that was really good. Nice hit-and-run attacks, then surrounding them and playing a wac-a-mole that the slow Orks could not handle.~<p>

I was quite impressed with the strategies and tactics employed by my Patriarchs and Matriarchs. In a series of brilliant moves, they had turned this war around. Though the Ork horde still numbered thousands, and there were possibly a lot more in the jungles of far south, it was still a significant achievement. Not only did the Ork horde stop in its track, the infighting and this counterattack bought me enough time to birth Alena in her new body.

Though I had been focusing greatly on the war in the far north and the invasions of southern human realms, I did spare some thoughts on Alena. I was greatly disturbed by Alena kissing me. I no longer hand such human feelings as lust or love, at least not as humans feel them. The problem was that Alena should not be feeling such emotions either. While her original body was still mostly human, the slow infestation had taken roots in both her body and mind.

Her psyche should be more Zerg by now, but that kiss made me suspicious, particularly since I found the incredible psychic potential locked within her. Fortunately, by the time I commissioned her new body, I understood why she kissed me. I had to check and recheck the data, but eventually, I realized what had happened. It was her puberty.

Although her body was in a form of stasis, I had allowed her original body to grow a bit so that the infestation would grow along with it. The problem was that the infestation had accelerated her growth as well as her mutation. By the time the infestation had taken root and no longer needed accelerated growth, her body had gone through puberty. Her last remaining human organs pumped out hormones that her small body could not effectively process, influencing her a lot more than I had expected.

The kissing encounter had been at that time, so her emotions were greatly disturbed. I wondered if she would regain humanity if her original body gets pregnant. However, I was not willing to sacrifice Alena to my scientific curiosity. Even if it was a very tentative one, she was still my last link to my humanity, now fading away except for all the memories, ingenuity and originality. I even felt that my ingenuity and originality was slightly weakened by my slow loss of humanity. I decided that I needed a little humanity to keep those positive aspects alive so that I and the Swarm may grow and evolve and adapt to this hostile universe.

The evolution of the Swarm was continuing unabated. We were relentless in our pursuit of survival through constant evolution. One of the more recent developments in our evolution was about the size our biggest units. Though Ultralisks have grown a little larger, I expected that they are neither strong enough nor large enough to counter some of the more scary creatures and vehicles that we may expect once we begin to spread throughout the galaxy. Even the creatures like Hydralisk, which was once thought as an epitome of Zerg evolution, was now found wanting. I needed to renew the Swarm in such manner that we can stand our ground against any enemy and eventually defeat them.

The Hydralisks were already in the process of becoming stronger. New strains of Hydralisks with tougher carapace, faster movement speed and stronger attacks as well as having abilities were being researched by my sentient units. Modified Defiler DNA and Queen DNA had been mixed to create Evolution Masters, a tentative title given to a character 'Abathur' in 'Heart of the Swarm'. Of course, it wasn't the same creature, but I managed to give them enough intelligence to make them work as scientists for the Swarm. Scores of them made a colony near the volcanic regions at the end of the peninsula so that the supply of catalysts from volcanic gas. Dozens of Evolution Chambers and several Spires and Greater Spires as well as couple of every genetics buildings were constructed so that my Evolution Masters would be free to experiment.

One of the more promising evolutions under research was the new and improved Hydralisks. Though the cost and build time would remain the same, the new strain would have tougher carapace with soft gelatin like layer right beneath it, allowing the Hydralisk to ignore kinetic concussions. This would allow a Hydralisk to charge through bombardments without being knocked over. The tiny legs along the lower part of the Hydralisk also gained little hooks with a bit of Psi Blade, allowing the Hydralisk to climb over cliffs normally thought impassable. These were but some of the evolutions to be applied to Hydralisks, and with their spines and claws still being researched for greater lethality, I was hoping to replace the old Hydralisks with the new strain within a couple of months.

What really worried me in encountering real versions of the factions in this galaxy were some of the larger enemies, and I mean literally 'large' creatures. Space Marines' Dreadnoughts were one thing but Land Raiders were another. I simply thought that taking out a Land Raider, particular when encountering a large group of well-armed Space Marines, would be futile with lesser creatures, and we would still suffer grave casualties even with Ultralisks. The Imperial Guards had the Baneblade and the other super heavy tanks, while other Imperial factions had their own super heavy units, including Titans of Mechanicus, Living Saints of the Sisters of Battle, Dreadnights of the Grey Knights. The Chaos had their large creatures including Chaos Dreadnought, various lesser daemons, and the most dangerous of their rank, the Greater Daemons of Chaos. The Necrons had their own things, such as their infamous Monoliths. Orks were well known for some of the larger vehicles and creatures. Nobz were huge, and they had Gargants. Tyranids were worst of all.

Except for the smaller creatures like various types of gaunts and Genestealers and such, the rest of the Tyranids were massive. Lictors towered over the Space Marines, and the Space Marines were already big. Even though Zerglings, Roaches, Hydralisks and every other Zerg creature had grown large since the last Great Evolution during which the new Overmind went into deep meditation. The Raveners were also as large as, or slightly larger than Space Marines, and the Tyranid Warriors were also as big. It was even possible that a normal Ultralisk may be fought on equal terms against three Tyranid Warriors rather than a Carnifex. Perhaps Omegalisks could fight a Carnifex on equal terms, but that was only a suspect. This understanding came after the encounter with the Chaos Marines, which finally got me an idea of the scale. If a Space Marine was so big and tough, then their enemies must be equally as powerful.

With that in mind, my Evolution Masters continued to research ways to make my Swarm greater and more powerful than ever before. I, on the other hand, returned my focus to the three wars on this world. I stopped the reinforcements to the south, letting the Patriarchs and Matriarchs to deal with the surviving Orks with troops they already have and supplied from nearby colonies. The troops from the peninsula's colonies were redirected back to the three commanders assaulting human realms. My personal focus returned to the far north, where the three-way war continued unabated.

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><p>"ATTACK!"<p>

"For the King!"

Three hundred well-armed pikemen, each protected by steel plate-mail on their chest and thick leather armor around their shoulders and arms, charged forward. They were the Steel Spears, a battalion of men who rose to fame through their most impressive records in this war. They had managed to survive the initial horrors before the strategy was changed. Then they managed to fend off the crazed cultists and held a hill-fort for three days and nights until reinforcements arrived. They continued to fight and won, driving back many enemies along the western flank.

The pikemen were the core of the Steel Spears, commanded by now-famous Sir Cravan a man who managed to kill one of the Chaos Marines, though none knew how he did it. He continued to lead his men to victory, though the casualty was high. Officially a regiment, the Steel Spears was usually maintained at battalion strength due to constant casualties. Their spears were sharp and under the command of the young, ambitious and talented knight-colonel, the Steel Spears Regiment continued to drive back the cultists, whose Chaos Marine commanders were mysteriously assassinated hours before the fighting. Without their terrifying masters, the warbands of cultists fell swiftly to the determined pikemen.

The three hundred pikemen grimly marched forward, stabbing at the cultists with their long and deadly pikes so coated with blood that the whole of the blade was red. Though they outnumbered the three hundred pikemen by four to one, the cultists continued to fall back as their morale was broken. Then another three hundred pikemen appeared behind the cultists, blocking the escape. Then with thunderous gallop, a hundred heavily armored knights on massive mounts charged headlong into the flank of the cultists with their sharpened lances skewering several enemies at once.

These knights had gathered from all over the Kingdom to join the brave Sir Cravan to fight against the 'evil and daemon-loving rebels'. The fame of Sir Cravan was the work of the King's council who needed a figurehead to rally the soldiers. Upon the advices from several lesser nobles and a couple of counts, Sir Cravan was given the position of Colonel in the army as well as being made an Earl. This was combined with various propaganda campaigns to boost the morale of the King's Army. With Sir Cravan continued to drive back the 'rebels', the King's forces rallied once more. While the actual war was still a stalemate, the morale of the King's army continued to rise.

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><p>The rising morale of the King's Army was not the only problem faced by the forces of Chaos under Judanus. The loyalist Space Marines had mounted a brazen assault against the Chaos forces. Though they were vastly outnumbered in terms of Space Marine numbers, the loyalists worked together in a concerted effort to bring down the servants of Judanus. On the other hand, the warbands in the employ of Judanus were fragmented and infighting was as common as battles against exterior forces. Controlling them with enticement of bloodbath and the threat of powerful sorcery under his command, Judanus had managed to bring forth nearly fifty different warbands, though all of them were very minor warbands and renegades who were cast out by greater forces of Chaos.<p>

Using the few remaining vehicles, the loyalists mounted a typical Space Marine warfare when fighting a war with limited number of allies. Using the support troops and heavily armed knights of Verin to clean up after them, the Space Marines of the 'Hands of Sorrow' made lighting fast strikes against key enemy positions, opening up a direct path toward the Tower of Enginseers, where Judanus resided. Although the only heavy vehicle they could muster was the Razorback, the presence of three Space Marine Bikes and a single Land Speeder had allowed the loyalists to mount speedy attacks.

Within the first month since the loyalists struck at the traitors, six Chaos warbands fell, their leaders torn apart by the loyalists. With the majority of the Chaos forces focused on the numerically superior King's Army, the Chaos warbands were hurriedly dispatched to block any path toward the Tower. Four new warbands, freshly summoned from the Warp Vault of Judanus, constructed fortifications along the road toward the Tower, and the loyalists tested the fortifications, only to be driven back by the ferocious attacks of Chaos Havocs of the Black Legion's splinter warband. Judanus had indeed risked much by bringing eight Chaos Marines within one warband, and adding other three, there were total of eighteen new Chaos Marines in the field.

Judanus was not worried as his plans were maturing well. He never really planned to allow the petty warbands to roam so freely upon 'his' planet. Yet, he recognized that he did not have enough Marines under his command to fully control this world or pound other warbands into submission. All he had, at the moment, were the eight pseudo-Rubric Marines he made from his former brothers and the Apothecary Lilgath. He commanded nearly five thousand crazed cultists of Tzeentch, but he knew that against Chaos Marines, the cultist warbands were meaningless.

He did have a plan to 'fix' the problem, however. The sixteen gene-seeds he had Lilgath harvest from the dead brothers had been cultivated within the clones. The clone vats to make more Servitors were now given a new purpose, and the muscular human clone inside the vats now carried nearly matured Space Marine organs. As for the potential recruits, Judanus selected the best among the young men among the cultists. They were pathetic, but he didn't really need their talent. All he needed was their souls. It would still be some time for the experiment to be completed, so for now, he needed to keep the warbands under control.

"Lord Judanus."

Judanus looked up from his throne. The throne was made from the skulls and spines of 999 potential psykers killed over nine minutes by nine different knives set upon nine different stones soaked in nine virgins' blood. Judanus had been blessed by Tzeentch for his deeds, and over the last few weeks, he had grown stronger.

His corrupted armor, the Mantle of Ever-Change, had grown into a strange form that resembled a Terminator Armor to a degree. The armor now burned even more brightly with blue flames of the Warp, and the chest piece of the armor now featured a daemonic face, whose eyes burned with bright Warp pyre. On his waist were two swords, Ga'huld, the daemon blade, and the Hell Blade, where Judanus had bound the original daemon owner of the blade into it. He now had a new weapon and a new helmet. On his left hand was a large Power Fist, now so twisted and corrupted that spiked tentacles were sprouting from the back of the fist. His new helmet had three long horns reaching high up into the sky, with a single ball of black lightning crackling between the horns.

"Speak, Lilgath."

Lilgath had changed as well. Though initially looking like an Apothecary that he once was, he now looked more like a blood-soaked mad-doctor. His left hand was fitted with modified Power Fist where the ends of fingertips were very long and sharp surgical knives. His helmet no longer looked metallic, but more bone-like and with wriggly muscle fibers dancing like salted worms. Though his shoulder pauldrons remained, his arms were bare, covered with metallic scale that slowly oozed blood.

"Blood Master has returned... but..."

"But?"

"But he has returned without his Disciple, or his warband... or his left arm."

The pitch black holes in Judanus's helmet suddenly flashed with deep purple fire.


	27. Chapter 27

Sorry for the slow updates. I have been busy, and will remain busy for some time. Moving back to Korea, so that's extra hassle.

Also, I have been focusing on my Korean story, which has garnered nearly 1.9 million hits so far... It is natural for a writer to focus on a story that is more popular...

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><p><strong>Chapter 27<strong>

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The metallic tapping of Power Armor's boots hitting the metal-covered corridors of the Tower of Enginseers sounded as if the wearer was wounded. In fact, the wearer of that Power Armor seemed gravely wounded. The left arm had been sliced off so neatly that even the armor pieces were hanging off it. The limp in the walk was due to three long spines buried in the right thigh, and the right pauldron was also half-destroyed by acid. It was amazing that someone with such wounds was still alive, but the might of a Chaos Marine allowed that.

Suddenly, another Chaos Marine appeared in front of him. Bits of the stranger's armor showed white while the rest was covered in caked blood. The wounded Chaos Marine spoke in a disgruntled tone.

"Lilgath."

The stranger, who happened to be Lilgath, the second-in-command of Judanus, chuckled as he peered at the wounds of the crippled comrade.

"Blood Master... you seem rather bloodied. Where is your... Disciple?"

The Blood Master growled and his right arm instantly brought out the Daemonic double-barrel Plasma Pistol and pointed it at Lilgath.

"You irk me, boy! Take me to your master now or I shall make two large holes in your chest."

Lilgath paused as if deciding whether to answer this insult in a violent manner, yet he thought of a better way.

"Come with me."

The Blood Master lowered his weapon but he kept a wary eye on the corrupted Apothecary. In fact, he asked some questions.

"Tell me, Lilgath... I have always wondered how a weakling like you came to serve the mighty Khorne. Are you certain that you are not a Tzeenth follower pretending to serve Khorne?"

Lilgath chuckled.

"If I was such, how would I have gained so many blessings of Khorne?"

The Blood Master could no longer take the sarcasm. His right hand grabbed Lilgath's shoulder and slammed him to the wall. In that instant Lilgath's corrupted bolt pistol was pointed at the Blood Master's head. Lilgath growled in displeasure.

"Do not touch me, filth. I let you live because Judanus demanded it. Do not test my patience... particularly now that you are weak and crippled."

The crippled Chaos Marine roared, baring his fangs, yet he did nothing. Taking his hand off Lilgath, the Blood Master spat on the side, and resumed walking.

* * *

><p>The Blood Master saw Judanus sitting on a throne of skulks and Warp fire. Leaning slightly to the side as if he was tired and bored, Judanus' new helm seemed as if it was empty. The eye-sockets were empty but for the absolute darkness within. The Blood Master recognized changes in Judanus' armaments and tensed. The room itself was rather small for Chaos Marines, particularly with four thick pillars located in the middle of every quadrant of the room. When the Blood Master appeared in the doorway led by Lilgath, the dark eye holes of Judanus' helmet lit up with dark purple light.<p>

"Welcome back, Blood Master. I see that you have met something quite dangerous... Tell me, was it one of my former brothers?"

The Blood Master growled.

"No."

That piqued the interest of the Chaos Lord.

"Interesting. What could have so gravely injured the infamous Blood Master?"

The mocking in the words was so obvious.

"Grrr... You..."

The purple flames intensified.

"I... what? It is laughable that you stand here, with your arm lopped off and your apprentice dead. You will now tell me what or who killed your Disciple and cut off your arm and chased you all the way back here like a badly beaten dog... or... I shall flay you alive."

The Blood Master had no choice.

"They were xeno creatures that I have not encountered. They were slightly insect-like but the best I could figure out was that they were powerful. They blocked my axe and tore through my Power Armor as if their claws were power swords."

That really made it interesting.

"How intriguing. Xeno creatures powerful enough to crack you apart... However, what I am really interested in is..."

As he spoke, Judanus got up from this throne and walked up to the Blood Master.

"What I really want to know is..."

"Speak!"

"Who are you?"

"What? I am the Blood Master!"

The purple flames within the helmet disagreed.

"You are lying!"

With that, Judanus drew his Hellblade and struck the Blood Master so fast that the already crippled Chaos Marine could not evade it. The Blood Master's right arm just below the pauldron was sliced off, with the wound cauterized by the daemonic flames of the Hellblade, where the daemons trapped inside the weapon screamed with joy at the sight of blood. The Blood Master roared in pain as he stepped back with shock on his face.

"What is this? You treacherous worm! You dare ambush me!"

At the outrage of the victim, Judanus chuckled, his voice altered through helmet to sound crueler.

"I have sensed that you are not the Blood Master. Your head emits a different aura in the Warp. If I had not the powers of a psyker and can feel the flow of the Warp, then I would not have guessed it. However, I do possess such power, and this most recent gift from Tzeentch has allowed me to see through your deception."

Click!

Lilgath had already drawn his corrupted bolt pistol and was pointing it at the fake Blood Master. Upon realizing that his deception has indeed been neutralized, the Blood Master chuckled, the voice now added with tiny clicking sounds, as if it was an insect that was speaking.

"_Well, you are quite good! We are impressed._"

Judanus pointed the tip of his Hellblade at the Blood Master, or the one who disguised as the Blood Master.

"What are you?"

Then right in front of Judanus and Lilgath, the Blood Master's face contorted and morphed into the hideous and terrifying face of the a Spyling, looking very similar a Changling but with horns and scale-like carapace growing around the neck.

"_We are the Swarm~! The Overmind knows you know, Judanus. He will come for you... You shall make a fine addition to our research materials..._"

Judanus's eyes, now clad in purple Warp Fire, flared up.

"You dare, creature? I AM JUDANUS! I am the Lord and Master of this world!"

"_You are very much mistaken. We are the master of this world now._"

"Never! Kill him."

At the command, Lilgath fired his bolt pistol.

Dakka! Crackle!

Unfortunately, this particular Spyling had absorbed much energy since taking this new body. Using the physical might and the reputation and position of the Blood Master, the Spyling had slaughtered every remaining cultists under the command of the Blood Master. The cultists fell, thinking that they were being sacrificed to the Dark Gods. In fact, their souls were being absorbed by the Spyling one at a time.

Then he went on a rampage across several small villages within the Judanus' realm, murdering whatever available. This seemingly mindless slaughter did not draw so much attention to the Blood Master, as blood and skulls were things Khorne demanded. Yet, such slaughters had fattened up this Spyling, hiding himself as the Blood Master.

With enough energy collected, the Spyling evolved. The core of the Spyling became stronger, and his body grew large enough to cover most of the body, allowing the Spyling to manipulate the body as he wished. Also, the Khaydarin Crystal inside the creature grew large and strong enough to generate low level Plasma Shield around the head. The bolt round fired by Lilgath had collided with that shield.

Blue flash surprised the two real Chaos Marines, but the Spyling was already on the move. The stumps of both arms suddenly exploded with bubble like growths. From bubbles came boney hands, growing as if to fulfill the role of the real arms. From those boney arms grew muscles, but not human muscles. Purple and dark brown muscles exploded into existence and filled the vacancy of missing arms, now fully equipped with thick carapace and claws.

That really surprised the two Chaos Marines. Judanus had thought that by severing the remaining arm, he could completely neutralize the Blood Master in case the latter fought back. Now, the Blood Master, or the creature that took over the body, had both arms back. Lilgath was surprised that his bolt pistol could not kill the creature. The creature was protected by some sort of energy shield, smaller than a Rosarius or a Refractor Field but perhaps more powerful than them.

The Spyling did not hesitate. The moment that Lilgath's bolt round exploded upon the shield, he flung himself to the side and hid behind nearest pillar. Waiting for a moment for his arms to grow back, he grabbed his double-barrel Plasma Pistol and the Daemonic Power Axe hanging on his belt. The two Chaos Marines immediately moved to hunt the creature. Judanus wielded his Hellblade with such rage and hate that the daemons inside screamed in pain, and their pain made the weapon come alive with deadly flames of malice.

By the time Judanus got to the pillar, the Spyling was ready for the Chaos Lord. Just as Judanus found the Spyling, the creature swung the Daemonic Power Axe at the Chaos Lord's face.

Clang! Crackle~!

The Hellblade, with two Khorne daemons stuck inside it, and the Daemonic Power Axe, with a single powerful daemon of Khorne inside, made a great show of sparks as their blades met with incredible force. Judanus was no fool and he had experiences of a Space Marine who had fought bloody wars and battles for well over a century. As for the Spyling, Zerg's natural ferocity was mixed with all the memories of the Blood Master, making the creature as potent and powerful as the real Blood Master.

The two fought like daemons themselves. Hellblade met Daemonic Power Axe every time, and each time the impact rang through the room, shaking everything around them. The fight was close. Judanus struck with all his might and experience, his blade finding every mistake and cracks in the movements of his enemy. The Spyling relied on incredible strength of his body, which was now a combination of Chaos Marine and Zerg.

The corrupted flesh of the Chaos Marine was the perfect place for the Spyling's own flesh to corrupt further. Muscles thickened and then coated with strange mucus, making them tougher yet flexible. Skin cells were fed strange nutrients and hormones, making them grow bone-scales. This body, possible only through the Spyling's evolution after the slaughters, had given the creature the chance to fight on equal terms. Without that, the Spyling control over the body or lack of enhancements would have made Judanus the victor.

Then suddenly, Lilgath intervened. His bolt pistol spewed fire so accurately that the Spyling had to evade them or die. Two against one made it more difficult. Yet, the Spyling was not afraid. He was physically incapable of fear. He merely grabbed his double-barrel Plasma Pistol and fired at the direction of Lilgath, who jumped out of the way. Judanus did not miss that chance.

Taking his weapon by both hands, Judanus made a powerful downward swing that the Spyling simply could not fully block. The tip of the Hellblade cracked the chest piece of the Blood Master's Power Armor, and like butter cut with glowing hot knife, the armor split. The Spyling reacted fast enough that the whole of the chest piece did not completely get severed in two, but a large ugly crack had now positioned itself on the armor. Yet, it did provide the Spyling with an advantage.

He was now closer to the exit. Raising the Plasma Pistol, the Spyling fired indiscriminately at Judanus and Lilgath, making them either block or evade the attack. Lilgath flung himself behind another pillar while Judanus blocked the attacks with his Hellblade. The Spyling took the chance and ran.

* * *

><p>Judanus was fuming. His momentary arrogance and the feeling of danger had stopped him from chasing the creature. This was a gift from Tzeentch. He could sense a danger in near future. He could not tell what kind of danger it is, nor could he tell exactly when this danger would occur, but he knew the feeling.<p>

Indeed, it had saved him. Right outside the tower's walls, the Zerg creatures had planned an ambush just in case Judanus had followed the Spyling. Not even Judanus would have survived such ambush without damage. Three Hunters, two Hydralisks, four Roaches, nine Raptors and a Velociraptor had been waiting to take down Judanus or anyone who dared to chase the Spyling. Just beyond the first ambush would be thirty Banelings supported by forty Zerglings, eleven Roaches, eight Hydralisks and two Infesters to take care of a large group of enemies who might be following.

Not only that, the real danger would have been the loyalists who had sneaked past the defenses of the Chaos forces. Leaving the vehicles in the hands of the Techmarine, the loyalists took a wooden boat and sailed across the lake. The Techmarine had made it look as if the loyalists were still stuck at a hill fort, laying siege upon it. However, by using the low tech of a wooden row boat, with their Power Armors hidden under specially treated leather, the loyalist Space Marines had slipped beneath the radar of the Tower.

* * *

><p>It was not long before the Orks realized that their advantage in numbers had faded into nothing, and the Zerg now overwhelmed them. Everywhere they went, they found Zerg ready to ambush the hapless Orks. Hundreds of Boyz and Gretchens had fallen this way, unable to find an exit. Eventually, this had drained the patience of the Warboss.<p>

"We gotta get outta here! Follow me boyz! Waaagh!"

With powerful voice laced with the hint of Waaagh! had rallied the faltering Orks, bringing them together in a single large group. Even after all that loss, they still numbered over a thousand individuals, though the Nobz now made up nearly 20% of the group. One of the things that assured the Orks of their survival was the presence of many loud vehicles, all of the them growling and spewing black smokes.

"Back ta da trees, boyz! Step onit!"

BOOM! BOOM! DakkaDakkaDakkaDakka! BOOM! DakkaDakkaDakkaDakka!

The Warboss' tank fired its big cannon and every gun and cannon followed suit as they made their escape from the Zerg's encirclement. Zerglings, Banelings, Roaches and Hydralisks attempted to block them, but by surrounding the Orks, no single group of Zerg creatures was large enough to block a thousand Orks on a stampede. The bullets and shells rained down upon the Zerg, and within moments, the blockade had fallen, leaving carcasses of nearly a hundred Zerg creatures.

The Patriarchs immediately mobilized to pursue the Orks, while the Matriarchs were left behind to rebuild the colonies. Yet, the Warboss Bugklaw was no fool. He left small groups of Orks, no more than a hundred at a time to fight as the rearguard. These Orks were overwhelmed by the Zerg, but they were enough distraction for the Zerg as their natural ferocity demanded the death of the Orks they encounter. Bit by bit, the Zerg gained on the Orks. Then on the third day of the wild chase across the hills of the far south, the Zerg had cornered the Orks at a crude Ork fortification that must have been built during the Ork attack.

Primitive and low walls made of scraps of metal and wood formed a crude village-like community with a dozen towers, also simply constructed with whatever was available. It was just large enough to hold the three hundred or so of the surviving Orks including the Warboss. The Patriarchs were confident of their victory now that they had cornered this annoying Warboss into a trap of Ork's own devising. Unwilling to waste ground forces to fell that fortification, the Patriarchs summoned the air units.

A dozen Guardians, eight Brood Lords, three Corruptors, a small swarm of fifty or so Scourges had gathered up in the sky behind the Patriarchs, just shy of their maximum range. The largest group of air units was the Mutalisks, including several Gattlisks with their new twin-barrels of Glaive Wurms. Led by their mutated brothers, the Mutalisk, numbering nearly a hundred, swooped down toward the Ork fort, ready to unleash terror and death upon the Greenskins.

* * *

><p>Yet, this was not to be. The Ork Warboss was much smarter than the Zerg Swarm had suspected. Indeed, only a smart and powerful Ork can become a Warboss, but their primitive culture had made a fool of the Swarm. The forces outside this planet who had fought many wars against the Orks would not have fallen for such trap, but the Swarm was still quite a stranger to the Orks and the problems they caused. It was when the Zerg units had finally thinned themselves to surround the fort that the Orks sprung the trap. A single Rokkit shot upward and exploded in a massive green flare.<p>

Then like thundering waves or incredible immensity of tsunamis, Orks came out from the forest in such numbers that the Zerg were in no way prepared to cope with. A carpet of Gretchens quickly covered the rolling hills, quickly followed by tens of thousands of Ork Boyz. Overlords and Overseers quickly made a count of the Orks below, their powerful but specialized brains making calculations that would put a supercomputer to shame. When the number came up, the Patriarchs were surprised beyond they thought they were capable of. The Gretchens alone had numbered nearly ten thousand, and the Ork Boyz numbered even more at twenty three thousand or so. The Zerg surrounding the Ork fort were not capable of fighting such army.

The decision to withdraw was a quick one, and all the ground units burrowed underground, and moved away from the forest, leaving the air units to act as rearguard. Brood Lords and Guardians fired their bio weapons with every ounce of their energy and Mutalisks and Gattlisks swooped down upon the hapless Slugga Boyz and rained down Glaive Wurms. Yet, there were so many Orks. Shoota Boyz were so many that after the third strike, the Mutalisks were all but gone, torn apart by hails of bullets. As for the larger air units, the Orks brought a surprise. From the trees came out nearly sixty Deffkopters with Heavy Shootas and Rokkit Launchers. Hundreds of crude Ork missiles slammed into the Brood Lords, tearing them apart within moments despite the Plasma Shield. Indeed, the attack was so brutal and terrible that the Brood Lords barely had time to scream before they died.

The last of the rearguard was one of the Patriarchs. The Overmind had taken over the Patriarch just as it was about to burrow into the ground along with several Hydralisks and few Roaches. Knowing the Orks and their behavior, the Overmind decided to delay the Orks as much as possible. The Patriarch roared with powerful psychic energy laced in voice. The sound was interpreted as a challenge. This brought the attention of the Orks to the Patriarch. Several Ork Boyz dared to fight the Patriarch, charging at the huge creature with their Choppas and Sluggas.

Their attacks were foolish at best. The Patriarch, having fed on the Orks that it had killed, had grown to an immense size and power. Now almost as big as an Ultralisk with as much armor, and with stronger attacks, the Patriarch was truly a terrifying creature. Its four claws were now permanently glowing with the deadly powers of Warp Blades of Dark Templars, more powerful than the Psi Blades used by Hydralisks and such. It had become such powerful psionic creature that its shield now rivaled that of a Protoss Archon, added with the Hardened Shield ability. So powerful was this creature that when the Overmind took over, the Khaydarin Crystals within the Patriarch flared up like fireworks, sending waves of psychic impact that literally shattered the Orks surrounding the creature.

Then the Nobz came. They were large beasts, unable to ignore the call of challenge. The Orks stopped in their pursuit of the Zerg as they waited to see the combat. One of the Nobz came forward first, holding a large chain axe in its hand. Screaming incoherently about something, the Nob charged at the Patriarch. Unfortunately, the Patriarch was currently possessed by the Overmind. There was no pity, no desire for fair fight. The lower chest of the Patriarch opened up its flaps and dozens of sharp spines appeared. They were clad in blue aura, same as that of a Psi Blade. Then the Patriarch fired. The Patriarch now had two flaps, and each fired a dozen spines, which had meant that the foolish Nob was skewered with twenty four spines with Psi Blade covering them. After they punched through the pitiful armor and thick skin of the Nob, the spines exploded with green acid spilling into the interior of the Nob.

* * *

><p>"Ha! Ya got some fight in ya! I like it!"<p>

One of the lesser Warbosses came forward this time. He was big. He was at least a meter taller than the Nob and carrying a crude power sword and a Burna.

"I da great Warboss Stonebrain!"

With that short introduction, the Warboss charged. The Patriarch fired spines again, but the Warboss was nimble enough to evade most of it and block some with his sword. Then the Warboss let his Burna loose. Great waves of fire surrounded the Patriarch, making the shield flash. Yet, such little flames could not hurt the Patriarch.

Four great claws slashes at the lesser Warboss, two vertically formed claws cut downwards while the two horizontally formed claws attempted to slice the Warboss at the waist. The Warboss managed to block and dodge the attacks and fought back, slashing at the Patriarch with his sword, only to have the Hardened Shield flash in defense.

The Overmind was quite willing to drag this on, but the great Warboss Bugklaw was not so willing.

"Wot'cha doin! Kill it!"

At his great roar of command, hundreds of Orks converged upon the Patriarch, and the Overmind let loose the carnage. The claws slashed and hacked away at the Orks attempting to overwhelm the great creature. Plasma Shield flared up from all the attacks. Sluggas and Shootas covered the Patriarch in tiny flashes while the Choppaz of the Ork Boyz made clanging sounds. Spines flew, tearing the Orks apart and even the powerful Prismatic Beam was used against the Deffkopters flying in to attack the Patriarch.

The Patriarch got stronger and stronger as it killed more Orks. Each slash with its four claws made a kill, and each death allowed the Patriarch to absorb the Orks' psychic power, as low as they were. Yet, the Plasma Shield did not recharge through that power, nor did its flesh mend as the Orks finally broke through the shield and hacked away at the large creature. The Overmind was planning something else. Roaring with a terrible psychic tremor, the Patriarch let loose six bursts of Psionic Storms, instantly clearing out the Orks surrounding it.

Panting from exhaustion and wounds, the Patriarch growled at the Orks that gathered once more. Then the big Warboss showed himself.

"Dat was some propa fight! Ha Ha!"

Bugklaw did not come by himself. He was still riding that looted tank.

"Fire!"

Boom!

The shell of the looted tank slammed into the Patriarch, forcing the creature back and causing a serious wound. Without Hardened Shield, such attacks were devastating. However, the Overmind had other plans.

The Overmind knew that the Patriarch was a lost cause and most of the Zerg had escaped the immediate surroundings. There was a backup plan for such high-value creature as a Patriarch, but the Overmind was not certain as to the viability of this plan. There was no other way, however, and the Overmind executed the 'self-destruct' of the Patriarch.

From the body of the Patriarch, a dozen Broodling Seeds fired into the ranks of Orks, instantly letting loose fifty or so Broodlings. Yet, these Broodlings were but a distraction. The Patriarch burrowed into the ground, fully knowing that without a prolonged distraction, the Weird Boyz and the Warboss and the Mekboys would find the Patriarch even underground. The purpose of the burrowing was not to hide. Instead, the Patriarch made a surprising burrow-attack, exploding from the ground right in front of the looted tank and jumping high enough to attack the Warboss Bugklaw.

"Dat's da sprit, bug-boy!"

Despite the attack, the Warboss Bugklaw was too large and too strong, and the Patriarch was a mere shell of its former self. The Orks did not realize it, but while burrowed, the Patriarch laid an egg containing all but one Khaydarin Crystals. The egg would eventually grow into a sort of worm that would burrow-move away to a safer place where it would hatch the Patriarch once more, with all the energy gathered in those crystals.

As for the Patriarch, its body exploded in a brilliant explosion of multiple Psionic Storms, wrecking the looted tank, but failing to kill the Warboss Bugklaw as he jumped out of the way.


	28. Chapter 28

Well, I'm in Korea, and I finally got a job. So, hopefully, I will have some regular writing time from now on. Galactic Imperium's next chapter is also being written as well, though I started that up again only recently. I have really been busy. Sorry about that...

As for Blood Master (or the Spyling inside it), it's a different case of Spyling possession, and the arm was deliberately chopped off to show as if Blood Master had been wounded. As for daemon weapons, there is some time between possession and daemon weapon failing. Sorry about the confusion.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 28<strong>

The renewed Ork army was as much a surprise to the Overmind was it was to the Matriarchs and Patriarchs. The Overmind, however, did not panic. A new order was given to the Matriarchs to delay the Ork attack as much as possible. The Overmind was now fully aware of how dangerous Ork threat had become because of the lack of intelligence in the far south. With renewed vigor, the Overmind hatched nearly a hundred Overlords and sent them south, so as to re-establish the information network lost when the Overmind pull the Overseers to survey the human realms. Meanwhile, every Zerg unit hatched was sent southward, pooling at various locations. Queens squeezed every drop of their hormones to hatch more Larvae, while the Drones worked extra hard to gather as much resource as possible. Of course, the Zerg had amassed incredible amount of bio-resources and non-bio-resources and was capable to mass-producing its creatures.

Ultralisks hatched by the dozens from each colony, and Roaches and Hydralisks were hatched and moved in groups of fifty or sixty. Mutalisks and Corruptors swarmed the skies as they were often born prematurely and had to dry their wings and tentacles before becoming capable of war. Secondary creatures such as Banelings, Lurkers, Guardians and Brood Lords were also evolved en mass. There was a case where the local Queen turned a swarm of three hundred freshly hatched Zerglings to all turn into Gorgelings. As for the Zerglings, being the primary troop of the Zerg Swarm, they were hatched from dedicated colonies and were born in groups of hundreds. There were other preparations against the Ork horde, as the colonies began to evolve scores of Sunken Colonies and Spine Crawlers.

While all these had been happening, the Matriarchs and the Patriarchs took over the southernmost colonies, a mere handful compared to the colonies in the peninsula or the upper far south. They spawned whatever unit they deemed necessary to slow down the Orks, hoping to bog them down every step of the way. Fortunately, the Orks fractured into scores of smaller clans and tribes once they were out in the open. Though the Zerg commanders did not dare challenge the Warboss Bugklaw directly, since his warband numbered nearly thirty thousand Orks with many vehicles and Deffkoptas, the Patriarchs led many ambushes against the smaller clans. In each such battle, the Zerg showed improvements in their fight against the Orks, as the Matriarchs continuously analyzed the battle results and found new ways to fight the Orks. These experiences would prove valuable against the later Zerg offensive into the far south and in other wars against Orks.

While the Zerg were fighting a difficult war against the renewed number of Orks, the Overmind was almost ready to hatch Alena.

* * *

><p>A huge cocoon, nearly five meters high and very thick even at its roots, pulsated with life. It heaved as if breathing and six tubes up on the top of the cocoon were shooting out thick green steam. Around this cocoon were three Queens, each of them staring at the cocoon and caressing its exterior with utmost care and tenderness.<p>

Queens were psionic creatures of great potential, and they had been channeling every drop of their psionic power into the cocoon, and when a Queen has been bled empty of its psionic energies, a fresh Queen would replace it, and this continued in a cyclical fashion so that the cocoon was never without the constant feed of pure psionic energy.

This cocoon had taken its place near the Omega Hive, the true Primary Hive Cluster of the Zerg Swarm. It had stood there for many weeks now, always with the feeding of psionic energy. The cocoon had absorbed every drop of that power, and with such efficiency that not even a sliver of it showed on its exterior. The Queens knew that the birth of this special creature was so close.

Suddenly, the Queens stopped feeding the cocoon, and the cocoon had stopped pulsating.

~Behold!~

* * *

><p>Alena was about to be born again.<p>

~It's close now.~

I whispered to myself. Though 'whisper' was an incorrect description, there was a little human left in me to enjoy such expressions. They were useful when talking to Alena.

I was looking through the eyes of the three Queens surrounding the cocoon. It was definitely on the final moments before the birth of the new Alena.

I heard, through the Queens' incredible sensory perception, that the exterior of the cocoon, previously covered in clear slimes, was hardening.

CRACK!

The first sound of her birth was heard as the cracking of the cocoon. A small crack had appeared on the exterior. Then the crack increased in size and formed a line of oval shaped cracks. From the cracks escaped steam of green and oozed clear purple gel.

~Behold! Here she comes!~

Crack! Boom! Thud!

The crack widened and with an explosive impact, the shape formed by the cracks blasted outward and threw down the door to the ground. Inside the cocoon was still thick with green mist, and I could see her from the eyes of the Queen.

~Behold my greatest creation thus far! Alena, the new Queen of Blades, the Mistress of Doom, the Princess of the Swarm!~

Then as if to answer my praise, Alena stepped out, and spoke.

"I have come! I serve the Swarm! I serve the Overmind! All who stand against the Zerg shall fall!"

~Welcome again, Alena, to the world. Now, you shall go forth and drive the...~

"Do we really need to do this?"

I was dumbstruck.

~Of course we do! This is a historic moment!~

"It's not like anyone is ever going to know of this. I will die and be born again countless times, and I don't really like to read this 'script' every time I am reborn."

~But I spent time on it.~

Ahhh... Why do I feel a little human every time I talk to her?

I shook off such 'human' thoughts and commanded her.

~Very well, Alena. Go kill the Orks.~

"As you command, Overmind."

* * *

><p>Alena surveyed the creep-covered Hive Cluster before her. Her three eyes carefully took in every piece of information around her. Her incredible senses allowed her to hear, smell and taste everything. She could literally taste the air around her.<p>

She did not look like Kerrigan at all. The only similarity was that they were both female, and the Overmind had allowed Alena's body to show all the female aspect, though it was possibly unintentional. She stood an incredible 2.5 meters, with dark carapace covering her body like armor, and it looked like armor with no visible soft parts peeking from the cracks.

Her feet was covered in thick carapace and looked more like the boots off the Power Armor of the Sisters of Battle rather than high heel worn by Kerrigan. Indeed, why would a Zerg need high heel for feet? Her fingers were clawed and constantly crackling with psionic energy and her carapace glowing slightly with shields. On her back were two pairs of boney wings, quite unlike that of Kerrigan. These wings were not designed for attack or fight, but they were actually a form of antenna for the projection of her psionic powers.

The top wings would spread like that of a large bird's but without feathers or flesh. Alena could power these wings with her psionic energy and create psionically formed feathers that could levitate her. Though technically, she would not 'flap' these wings to fly. She would hover over the battlefield or jump over cliffs if needed. They would also shroud her when she uses the same 'Blink' ability of the Dark Templars or Stalkers. The lower set of boney wings would spread like that of an insect, and they would form arcs with which Alena could receive or project psionic energy.

As for her melee attack capability, the Overmind had been rather generous. Her forearms were mostly hollow and a long sharp claw would hide along the forearm up to the elbow. It would unfold in battle, giving Alena a shorter version of Zealots' Psi Blade. This claw would be encased with energy similar to that of a Dark Templar but with much greater energy output than the Warp Blades of the Dark Templars. Also, the claws at the end of her fingers were also encased with similar energy fields, allowing her to tear through tank armor if she would. Another melee weapon would be her tongue. Her tongue would whip out like a real whip, but when the tongue is out there, then tiny spikes would sprout out from the surface of the tongue and crackle with Psi Blade energy and highly toxic acid vapors.

Though there was no need for ranged weapons on her since her psionic powers would easily cover for it, the Overmind was also generous with such things. She could open up her chest carapace and fire spines at the same rate, damage and range as a Hydralisk, except for the high-level Warp Blade energy surrounding each spine. She could also spray acid through her mouth as well as pores on her palms.

All these, however, were nothing compared to the incredible psionic powers she held. The Overmind had psionically charged and pressured the Khaydarin Crystals into condensed forms, and stuffed them into Alena's new body. She held as much psionic power as five Infesters put together and recovered her energy at four times the rate of an Infester. In fact, her primary attack was expected to be a psionic disruption pulse. This attack was a powerful attack similar to that of the Protoss Dragoons when they were in use. Though much powerful than a Dragoon's attack, Alena was capable of shooting these pulses as fast as Hydralisks' attacks and at slightly longer range.

Although the armor-piercing of these attacks were quite low, the attacks were devastating for most enemies as the flesh and armor were shredded together. When encountering heavily armored units, Alena was capable to either firing psionically charged spines or used Telekinetic Leash. Though it taxed her, she could capture up to four targets and lift them up high in the air. While in the air, the Telekinetic Leash would apply incredible pressure upon the target, crippling it. A non-armored target would often die from the pressure alone. Then after about ten seconds, Alena would slam them down, added with much more kinetic energy than normal fall. Such attack was expected to cripple even the most powerful of enemy vehicles.

Psionic Storm was a primary psionic ability given to Alena. Much more powerful than that of a Protoss High Templar, Alena was capable of firing three such storms at once, either covering greater area or concentrate them into a single spot. The Telekinetic Leash would the secondary psionic ability, but it was the third and the forth ability that really made her terrifying. The third ability was a passive ability. When her body metabolizes nutrients and psionic energy, her body oozed out psionic energy at a specific frequency and wave band that was sensitive only to the Khaydarine Crystals inside Zerg units. This excess energy is enough to strengthen psionic energy within each Zerg unit. A Zerg unit within Alena's area of influence would move faster, jump higher, attack more powerfully. The creature would also gain psionic attacks and shield.

The fourth psionic ability was something even more incredible and terrifying. Taking a hint from Protoss Mothership's Vortex ability and Eldar's Eldrich Storm from the knowledge of James, the Overmind and conjured up a powerful and highly destructive ability that would not only devastate all of Alena's enemies but turn the land into a field of death that only the Swarm can survive. This ability was difficult for Alena to use. She would need to use her lower wings to drain psionic energy at an incredible rate. This Vortex Storm would create a vortex similar to that of the Mothership but would not displace those afflicted into another dimension. Instead, they would be forced to gather into a narrow space as scores of Psionic Storms, Dark Archons' Maelstrom and explosions of raw psionic energy whirl all around them. Only the toughest of the enemies would survive, and even they would suffer grave injuries as powers of gods tear apart their flesh and soul. By the time the Vortex Storm ends, the souls of the dead would form small Khaydarine Crystal pillars that would create small Psionic Storms between them, and the ground would be covered with Creep that would slowly recede.

She was truly a terrifying creature that knew very little competition. Even Elric, Hargen and Volran put together would not be able to stand against Alena and her might. She knew it as well. Currently, she was the most powerful arsenal in the Swarm.

Alena turned around and looked at another large cocoon right next to her own.

"Awake, my friend."

The cocoon exploded open at her words and Toby, in his new body, stepped out. Steam rose all around his slime-covered body, and as he took each step forward, the carapace hardened and spikes grew outward. Claws were sharp and his four eyes were just as sharp. Toby still walked on four legs, but they were now legs dedicated for movement. In front of Toby's front walking legs were a pair of arms folded like the arms of a mantis, and claws matching such description. Single scythe-like claw was growing from each of those arms, to work as a secondary attack claw to the larger primary attack claw on Toby's back, which were larger and stronger now.

Toby did not get improvements on his melee ability alone. The pair of Roach glands at the base of his neck allowed Toby to make a short-ranged acid spray, while his translation of collarbones now carried spine-firing sacs. He could now fly a short distance and leap over low cliffs, and he could even cloak if needed. Shields and burrow-move was a given and he could now command Zerglings to do his bidding, though most of his instincts were now dedicated to serve and protect Alena. When without Alena, Toby was also capable to turning into a Raptor mode, standing on two rear legs while front walking legs instantly mutating into new set of attack claws. He had become the King of Zerglings and Lord of Raptors.

"Well, Toby… to war!"

Jumping on Toby's back, Alena rode forth. Toby was now much larger than a Zergling, and much stronger. Together they made a perfect combination. Such was the vision of the Overmind, and behind Alena and Toby, a dozen Hunter Killers and scores of Devouring Ones followed, guarding their new mistress.

* * *

><p>The new generation of Hunter Killers was incredible creatures based on the deadly Hunters rather than Hydralisks. Armed with same armament as a Hunter, these creatures were perfect killers and assassins, but the Hunter Killers were simply superior. They were at least 40 cm larger in height alone, and their carapace was thicker and claws sharper. They fired more spines with longer rage and greater velocity, and the extra Khaydarin Crystals allowed shielding and Warp Blades for their claws. The capability to cloak, burrow, burrow-move were improved, and the Hunter Killers could now leap into air and strike their foes. Indeed, no Lictor would be able to challenge a Hunter Killer.<p>

As for the Devouring Ones, they were not simply larger, stronger versions of Zerglings, as they used be in the old Swarm. The new Devouring Ones were a lesser version of Toby. With four dedicated legs for walking and a pair of attack claws, they were more of an arachnoid than an insectoid. They had shields, Psi Claws, capability to leap, burrow-move and jump over cliffs. Not only that, the Overmind turned the Devouring Ones into pack animals with pack mentality. Moving in groups of at least five, they form a little hivemind, a subset bound to the nearest Overmind. Using the Overmind or its cousins as relays and central processor, the Devouring Ones hunt and kill in a most ruthless and terrifying manner.

* * *

><p>Without the Overmind directly interfering with the war in the North, the baton was handed back to the forces of Chaos once again. Except for very few exceptional commanders and several commanders replaced by Spylings, the forces of the King began to fail, and a general retreat was issued. The King's armies retreated several hundred miles back south, not only releasing conquered territories but actually losing over a dozen baronies and earldoms bordering the North. The Chaos Marines who commanded the Cultist armies began to push forward, though the new front in the west was not doing so well.<p>

On the western borders of the North, the Loyalist drove the armies of Verin and its allies against the Chaos Marines. Supported by heavily armored and well-armed knights and soldiers, the Space Marines made an astounding nine kills of Chaos Marines, scattering and slaughtering the Cultists afterward. The war had turned a new corner, and Judanus could not fail to notice it. He raged at his escaped brothers attacking him. Sacrificing even more villagers, Judanus called forth more Chaos Marines and Daemons to do his bidding. Such horrendous activities soon turned the land around the Tower into such hellscape that it would easily be mistaken for scenery from a Daemon World.

If this was all, then it was most likely that the Chaos would have overrun the King's army and eventually break the Loyalists, but something happened that not even the Overmind expected. Perhaps it was the Waaagh! in the south or something else, but the Orks in the far North began a Waaagh! of their own. The northern Orks were definitely fewer than the Orks in the far south, since they were in a land a lot less fertile and a lot more inhospitable than the jungles and tundras of the far south. The Far North, a land only as big as Madagascar but covered in Tundra and steep mountains, was populated by the Orks who lived in small villages in the valleys between the mountains.

These Orks live in such hostile land and climate that every moment is a fight for survival. Had it not been the sheer resilience of the Ork-kind, they would have been wiped out when their ancestors first arrived on this world. Fortunately, though their numbers are smaller than their more prolific cousins in the Far South, they had greater percentage of Nobz. This was the result of fighting dozens of terrifying creatures that lived in Far North. These hulking Nobz eventually made life somewhat livable for the Orks in recent decades. Mineshafts began to form, made by the sacrifice of Gretchens and lesser Orks, and eventually, most of the Ork villages were now connected by winding tunnels beneath the mountains.

United through these tunnels, Orks began to fight over the leadership, and now a new leader had emerged, defeating all other lesser Warbosses. The Warboss Freeziskull had finally united the Orks of the Far North and decided to march south to spread their Ork-kind all over the world. The Zerg would not really meet this Warboss, or fight him, as he was a problem for the forces of Chaos and they would deal with him, but what this Waaagh! meant to the war was that everything was becoming stalemate.

* * *

><p>The Ork advance in the Far South had come to a grinding halt once again as the Matriarchs and Patriarchs did their best to delay their enemies. With tactics and strategies that would stun and amaze even the most brilliant commanders of Imperium, the Zerg commanders made the Orks pay dearly for every inch of ground they took. The Zerg forces moved in a group of small but highly mobile task forces that were supported by a single large heavily reinforced battle force. Each of these tactical groups were commanded by either a Matriarch or a Patriarch, and the task forces would harass the Orks until the Warboss in charge could not take the torment any more. The Ork forces would launch forth either from their newly constructed bases or from the safe position they had taken from the Zerg.<p>

The Zerg task forces would then flee into the forests and marshlands, letting the foolish Orks to scatter into smaller groups, then the battle force would strike the half-empty main base, tearing through the hapless Orks there. By the time Orks that chased the task forces into the forests and marshes returned to their base, they would only find themselves in the midst of smoldering ruins of their former structures. The Warboss would rage against the departed foes but since there is no enemy to be seen, they would settle down. Then the Zerg would strike again. Lurkers and Infesters would fire their spines and Infested Terran eggs and they would wreck havoc upon the Orks forces. When the Orks finally ready themselves to repel the enemy inside their ruined base, the task forces would return once more to harass them.

Some of the more foolish Warbosses would chase the task forces again and suffer another day of humiliation, but for the smarter Ork leaders, traps were set. These Warbosses would not allow their minions would chase Zergs again, but consolidate themselves in large groups only to be devastated by Banelings and Gorgelings exploding right under them. Unable to withstand the Lurkers, Infesters and Banelings, the Orks would try to move to join another Warband, hoping to consolidate themselves in larger numbers. They would come under fire from Mutalisks and Gattlisks. Thousands of Glaive Wurms would spent upon these retreating Orks, and by the time they joined another Warband, they would be less than a fifth of their original strength.

Of course, such feat was only against smaller Warbands that the Zerg commanders thought they could take on. Against larger Warbands, long range strikes with Guardians and Brood Lords were used. Then when the Fightabommas would rise into the air and come against the Zerg flyers, a swarm of Scourges supported by Devourers and Corruptors would rise up to take down the Ork air units. The Zerg were outnumbered, but unlike the Orks, the Zerg were capable of replacing their loss much faster. For the Orks, each Fightabomma was the work of a Mek and his numerous Gretchens over many weeks, but Scourges of the Zerg were born in mere hours. Each confrontation had slowly but surely sapped the mechanical prowess of the Ork forces, which was the key proponent of the second Ork advance.

Then after weeks of back and forth, Alena had arrived.

Leading a massive and powerful Zerg forces behind her, Alena arrived upon the hills of the Far South riding on Toby. Her three powerful eyes pierced through the distance and found her targets. The Ork Warband under Warboss Gutface had pushed faster than any other warband. Numbering over three hundred Nobz, two thousand Boyz and over a dozen lesser vehicles and three Looted Tanks with six Deffdreads, this warband was strong yet small. Indeed, the Warboss Gutface was quite smart too, and did not rise to meet the baits of task forces under a Patriarch. In fact, the use of a clever deception had destroyed two of the eight task forces under that Patriarch. The Orks under the Warboss Gutface was very pleased at the sight of Deffdreads shredding apart a Hydralisk.

This warband was Alena's first prey.

"Excellent. Let's see what an Ork can do against me."

~Yes, Alena. We shall see. However, I still want you to be careful.~

"Do not worry, Toby. How can I be in danger when you are with me?"

~These Orks… The Swarm has underestimated them enough. The Overmind's distractions are over. It is our time to adapt and strike back at them.~

"I agree, my friend."

Alena turned to look at the Hunter Killers and Devouring Ones standing right behind her. In her sight, however, there were hundreds of powerful Zerg units, each empowered by Alena's presence, burrowed under the ground.

"I don't think we will need any special tactic in this. We will simply overwhelm them. Just get the Ultralisks to take on their Deffdreads without fail."

The Hunter Killers, with intelligence level almost at par with a Queen, lowered their heads.

~Yes, Mistress.~

~How about we use the Lurkers more aggressively?~

Toby offered an advice. Alena nodded and a plan quickly formed in her head.

"Have the Lurkers go around behind the enemy. When the Warband retreats back to their high ground, let the Lurkers unleash death upon the brutish Orks at will."

~Yes, Mistress.~

* * *

><p>It was almost two hours before everything was ready. Like the personality of the Overmind, Alena's tactics had the twinge of James within it. Preparations had to be in place before the strike can be made. Lurkers, Banelings, Infesters and many Roaches had burrow-moved. They had settled around the low hill upon which the Orks made camp. Then Alena made her presence known to the Orks.<p>

"Wot? Wot's dat?"

"Dunno… It looks lika humie."

"Nah it don! A humie got no wings!"

"Wings, huh? It musta be one of da Bugs!"

"A humie-looking Bug? That sounds interesting!"

This conversation was quickly interrupted by a Nob.

"You Boyz! Wot'chu all doin 'ere?"

"Dere's a humie-looking Bug."

"Wot? A fight is it? I ready for a gud fight! Waaaaaagh!"

"Waaaaagh!"

* * *

><p>"Here they come, Toby."<p>

~Kill them! Tear them to pieces! For the Swarm!~

* * *

><p>For the Swarm indeed...<p> 


	29. Chapter 29

The chapter was written quite quickly, much to my surprise. In any case, the Zerg swarm fumbling on this planet is ALMOST over, but not quite yet. The Swarm still needs to take care of the Humans, Orks, Space Marines and the Chaos Marines... but they will be wrapped up soon. I do think my readers (Yes, all of you!) rather want the Zerg to actually get out there into the wider galaxy of the Warhammer 40K. Isn't that right?

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 29<strong>

"WAAAGH!"

The Orks charged toward Alena and her Zerg forces, and Alena let her units rush forth as well. So ferocious were the two armies that no mere mortal would have survived that chaos. Ork Boys struck hard with their axes and swords, while Zerglings leapt here and there and slashed at the Orks with their claws. Roaches would spray their acid and strike with axe-like claws only to be countered by Burna Boyz and their crude flamers laying down equally devastating attacks. Hydralisks and Shoota Boyz dared to challenge each other in the art of ranged combat, firing at each other with either deadly accuracy or sheer number of ammunition. Raptors would leap at the Stormboyz while Stormboyz would slam down the Raptors. WarTraks and Warbuggys were met by scores of Banelings and Gorgelings rolling across the ground, while Deff Dreads and Looted Tanks fought against the mighty bodies of Ultralisks.

Amongst the terror of such battle, the Nobz waged a terrible fight against the Devouring Ones and Hunter Killers. Supported by Flash Gits and Lootas, the Nobz fight toe to toe against the terrifying elite creatures of the Swarm, and those fights were horrendous. Devouring Ones, moving in fives and sixes would leap upon a Nob that was pounding on a Roach and the deadly crackling claws of the Devouring Ones would almost instantly shred the Nob into slivers of green flesh and red blood. Then hail of crude Ork bullets rained down upon the Devouring Ones, making the shields flare up into a terrible show of light. Ork Boyz with their Sluggas and Choppas would swarm upon those Devouring Ones, hacking and slashing and firing. The Devouring Ones would dodge the attacks this way and that, only for the Hunter Killers to fire powerful ammunition against the Orks. Ork Boyz would fall, pierced in dozens of places by long and still-crackling spines. From behind the corpses of the dead Orks, the Devouring Ones would leap toward the Flash Gits only to be struck aside by Nobz with hammers and chainaxes.

In that battle came in Toby. His roar terrified the Orks into stupor and he would literally tear through the walls of Ork flesh, turning the Orks into minced meat with his claws and psionic attacks. Upon him was Alena herself. She liberally fired her psionic disruption pulses at random Orks, and the Warp Blade surrounding the claws of her forearms were long enough to cut through several Orks at once. Like a deathful whirlwind of blades, she and her mount made even the ferocious and brutish Orks terrified. With her, the Zerg units were stronger. Claws glowed with light purple nimbus and the spines were crackling with energy and acids exploded all over beyond the normal range. If commanded by a Matriarch or a Patriarch, this small attack force would be overwhelmed by the numerically superior Orks, but these Zergs were commanded by Alena and imbued with her incredible psionic powers. Bullets and Choppas would bounce off shields and no amount of crude Ork armor or their tough skins and muscles could stop the Zerg attacks.

"I see ya!"

A strange voice was heard. Alena turned to see a Deff Dread, having killed an Ultralisk with the aid of two dozen Orks with grenades and bombs. The Orks were dead but the Deff Dread did not care. It had killed the 'large creature with sharp tusks'. In fact, the Deff Dread was relishing the idea of sticking those sharp tusks on his metallic body after the battle. After all, no normal Ork would dare challenge a Deff Dread unless the git wanted to die a painful death.

"Ah, a challenger."

Alena did not mind a challenger. She immediately turned Toby around and fired two pulses. The two purple energy balls exploded upon the front armor of the Deff Dread. Two large dents appeared where the pulses had turned the armor into dust. But the armor was too thick for the disruption pulses to penetrate.

"So, my first armored targets. Well, one is just not the right number."

Alena was confident indeed, and she marked four armored targets including the Deff Dread that was stomping towards her. Then from her hands extended out four lines of bright purple lights that grabbed an armored unit each, particularly the Deff Dread that dared to challenge her.

"Here it goes!"

The Deff Dread, a Looted Tank, a WarTrak and a Warbuggy rose into the air. The Deff Dread was screaming almost coherently.

"Let me down, ya humie-bug! I'll stomp ya gud!"

It was too late for the Ork vehicle, and the Ork inside. With sickening crunching sounds, the hulls and armors of the vehicles began to crackle as if they were made of paper and a pair of large hands was squeezing them.

"That's enough."

With her words, the vehicles were slammed down so hard and fast that Orks and Zergs around where the vehicles landed were thrown all over the place. The WarTrak and Warbuggy were almost instantly destroyed, their crude and pitiful internal mechanisms unable to handle that much damage. The Looted Tank was still functioning, but it was upside down. As for the Deff Dread, it was still functioning, and would have charged Alena, except its legs were crippled into scores of pieces. It still fired its Big Shoota from its two chest-mounted positions, but without legs, the vehicles aims were terrible, or at least worse than normal.

"Take me to it, Toby."

Toby obliged, and brought Alena to the Deff Dread, cutting aside any Orks that blocked his path. Alena now sat just beyond the Deff Dread's melee weapons' reach.

"Deff Dread… It is truly 'crude' to say the least."

Then as if waving aside some dust, she waved her hand. Yet, in that hand, her incredible psionic powers were converted to telekinesis and the front half of the Deff Dread was blown clean aside, revealing the limbless and crippled Ork inside. The Ork was still rambling and raging, but Alena was merely looking at all the barbarically attached tubes.

"So, that's how you survive in there… So… crude."

ZZZAP!

A bolt of psionic lightning shot forth from Alena's fingertips and fried the rambling Ork inside the half-destroyed Deff Dread.

"Toby, let's go kill some more Orks."

~I will be glad to oblige.~

* * *

><p>The Warboss Gutface was romping and stomping like he wished. Though smaller than the Big Warboss Bugklaw, Gutface was a very large, very wealthy and very powerful Ork. With plenty of teef to spend with good Big Mek in his tribe, Gutface had some good weapons. The Power Klaw was a basic thing, and he loved his 'Kustom Hand Kannon', which was just a large arm-mounted twin-linked Autocannon looted from the crashed Imperial Guard escape pod. The large trophy rack mounted on his back and some 'eavy Armor was quite good too. Gutface even had his right arm replaced by a 'machine arm' after Bugklaw chopped it off in a duel over the leadership. Now, his right arm was a mechanized arm with Power Klaw at the end of it.<p>

Gutface really loved attacking the 'Bugs', and he relentlessly pushed his boys northward. Now, a fight came to him. He was so delighted that he immediately grabbed a Zergling by the head and slammed it on to the ground and stomped on its head. Then he fired his Hand Kannon into the back of a Hydralisk that was firing its spines into a Shoota Boy. Gutface also knocked aside two Raptors that were about to jump on his face. The Raptors were quickly chopped to pieces by Gutface's Nobz.

"I like dis!"

This was his reaction when he came to face three Devouring Ones. Like any real Ork at his position, Gutface knew a good fight when he saw one. He grabbed a Devouring One as they leapt to his face, and knocked aside another with his Kannon hand. Then as the third Devouring One was cutting into his left shoulder armor, the Warboss rolled. 5 meter tall Warboss rolling on the ground was not something Devouring Ones were designed for. The Devouring One on Gutface's shoulder quickly became like a jar of strawberry jam rolled over by a truck. All Gutface had to say about it was a little chuckle. Then the Warboss proceeded to tearing the remaining two Devouring Ones into pieces.

It was then when Alena had killed the Deff Dread that the Warboss noticed her.

"YA! I like a fight with ya!"

It was so loud that Alena's attention was attracted. Like a rampaging bull or enraged rhino, the Warboss Gutface charged toward Alena. A Roach, two Slugga Boyz, a Hydralisk, three Shoota Boyz, a Loota, five Zerglings were knocked aside as the large Warboss waded through the battlefield. Alena was glad to give fight to the Warboss. She already knew that the death of a Warboss meant disintegration or the weakening of the Warband.

Alena made the first move. She fired two disruption pulses and a volley of spines. The pulses made holes in the Warboss' 'eavy Armor, and made him bleed a bit, while the spines found themselves only half accurate. Three spines were stuck in the shoulder armor while others flew over it. The Warboss replied in kind. His twin-linked Autocannon fired crude Ork ammunition. Around Alena a spherical shield formed. The Hardened Shield formed to protect her from heavy damage.

"Very well. Let's see who wins!"

With that, Alena fired bolts of lightning, half dozen disruption pulses and two more volleys of spines before leaping off Toby. The Warboss either evaded or shrugged off the attacks, his brain unable to register the heavy damage during his utter psychosis.

"I gonna be da one to rip ya into ma trophy!"

"I will make necklace out of our spines!"

The two mighty creatures collided, and much to the surprise of the Warboss, the winner was decided far too quickly. With the agility of an Eldar, Alena evaded the wide and brutish swing of the Warboss, and sneaked herself right under his chin. Then she exploded a large disruption pulse into his chest and face. The 'eavy armor was thick enough to prevent the Warboss'\ chest from being flayed open, but there was a huge hole in that armor and a chunk of the Warboss' chest was gaping open, and half of the Ork's jaw was gone.

"Aaaargh!"

Just as the Warboss was screaming, Alena made her second attack. From her hands, four Telekinetic Leashes exploded out, and grabbed each of the Warboss' limbs. Then just as the Warboss realized what was happening, she spread them.

RIP!

Instantly, the Warboss had lost his arms and legs, and as he rolled on the bloody mud, Alena made the move to end his life.

"You are truly a waste of breath."

A focused Psionic Storm pierced the thick Ork skull and instantly fried the Ork brain and spine. Then, unable to withstand the energy of the Psionic Storm, the Warboss' head exploded.

Then like Tyranids that lost their synapse creature, the Orks began to break. Their Waagh!-link was severed, and though there was no quantifiable measurements, every Ork in that Warband knew that their Warboss was dead. As Alena was drinking deeply from the Warboss' brutish and 'crude' Ork soul, the Ork Boyz and Nobz began to break rank and fled. One by one, the Zerg units were freed up as Orks ran back to their campsite, and under Toby's guidance, the Zerg forces chased and caught many Orks. Devouring Ones and Raptors made good kills in such chases. Even those who fled were killed by the Lurkers and Banelings hiding in ambush. By the time Alena was out of stupor, the battle was over, and a whole Ork Warband was now utterly destroyed.

"Now to the next one."

* * *

><p>By the time Ork Warbands realized that the strategies of the Zerg had changed, it was too late. The Matriarchs and the Patriarchs quickly rallied around Alena. She had been imbued with all the strategic and tactical knowledge of those absorbed by the Swarm. The genetic knowledge of thousands of Terran and Protoss commanders killed and devoured by the old Swarm were filtered and distilled into purified form, and were fed to Alena. She now had all the knowledge of war known to Terrans and Protoss. She could muster every known techniques of war using Terrans and Protoss technology. She was obviously the master of Zerg-style warfare. She was using all that.<p>

Reinforced by thousands of Zerg units that followed Alena, the Zerg forces made greater gambits against various Ork Warbands. Even larger Warbands were now coming under assault. The frontline spread wider and a dozen Warbands were simultaneously under attack while roving bands of Zerglings and Raptors were making deadly hit-and-run attacks between the Warbands, cutting off supply lines. Several Warbands attempted to bring forth more vehicles, particularly the Fightabommas, but swarms of Scourges made quick meal of that. Without the heavy air support, the Orks were now vulnerable to Zerg's air units moving in roving bands of deadly capability.

Mutalisks and Gattlisks now swarmed all over the sky, hindered only by sporadic anti-air fires, quickly stifled by the Brood Lords and Guardians. With the reinforcements, the Zerg had now matched the Orks in number by a third, and seeing the scattered nature of Ork Warbands, the Zerg Swarm had the advantage. Days passed, and each day hundreds of Orks perished under the sharp claws and the deadly acid sprays. As Days passed into weeks, the casualty in Ork camps began to pile up too fast even for the Orks. Had it not been for the smart decision by Warboss Bugklaw, the Orks would have been forcibly driven back into the jungles after much more deaths on their side. Bugklaw knew when to retreat and consolidate his leadership, which had been shaken by the slow progress of the Waaagh!.

Before Alena could finally challenge Bugklaw's Warband, he took his Warband and several larger Warbands back into the jungles and disappeared. Without the presence and leadership of their big Warboss, the lesser Warbosses among the Warbands began to fight each other, making the war easier for the Zerg. Like patient hunters, Zerg under Alena took their time. One by one, Warbands fell. Each day, more Zerg arrived in the Far South, and each day, the Zerg got bolder in their attacks. Soon, even the bigger Warbands fell. By the fourth month of Alena's birth, she had cleared the Far South of the Ork threat. There was still much rebuilding to do, but the Ork threat was over for now. The Overmind and Alena agreed that the jungle was too dangerous for now. Instead, more Overlords, Overseers and many fliers would patrol the skies above the canopies.

New colonies would be constructed along the jungle lines, perhaps like the Maginot line of the French, but with a lot more flexibility. A dozen Hatcheries were already planned with hundreds of Spine Crawlers, Sunken Colonies and other defenses. The Overmind had to hatch hundreds of new Drones just to rebuild the colonies lost during those dark months. In fact, the Zerg had lost almost half of all colonies outside the peninsula. However, with this victory against the Orks, the Zerg had the chance to renew its assault against the humans.

* * *

><p>"Take it down!"<p>

A knight on horse roared as he raised his laspistol and fired at the massive form of an Ultralisk. Though it made no difference, the bravery of the knight aroused his men.

"Fire!"

At the shout of the sergeant, eighty or so archers fired their arrows at the Ultralisk. However, they had fought such creature enough to know that arrows didn't even register in the creature's attention. The arrows bounced off the thick and hard carapace. Only the crossbow bolts made any difference, and only to a point. Only the tips got stuck on the carapace, and nothing touched the flesh underneath.

Yet, the soldiers fought on. They knew that running was useless. The Zerglings were too fast for anyone not on horseback, and most of the soldiers were without horse.

"The Dog-things!"

Someone shouted and the soldiers quickly turned their head to see scores of Zerglings charging at them.

"Swordsmen! Counter them!"

Swordsmen with long swords and chain mails with steel chest plates moved to fight the Zerglings, or the 'Dog-things' as the humans called them. A swordsman blocked the charging Zergling with his shield, but the impact was far too much. The swordsman fell backwards but he managed to thrust his sword forward as the Zergling jumped on. The weight of the Zergling pressed down on the sword and the creature skewered itself. However, the Zerg creature did not die so easily or so quickly.

Rrrrarrrr!

Screaming wildly, the Zerglings slashed at the swordsman, and though the man tried to block the attacks, the diamantine claws were far too sharp for the steel chain mail to block. Blood gushed from the fresh wounds as the Zergling tore through the man's face.

"Fire!"

A dozen arrows struck the Zergling, three of them managing to pierce soft part of the Zergling. Yet, these were new Zerglings that were stronger and far more resilient than ones before.

"Damn it! Why won't you die!"

The knight roared as he fired three shots into the Zergling's head, and finally the creature was dead, but the Ultralisk was still rampaging across the battlefield, mindlessly butchering human soldiers. There were other Ultralisks as well. They stampeded through the ranks of cavalries or archers, while few lasgunners and crossbowmen fired what they could at the creatures while the soldiers with spears and swords hacked away at the tough carapace of the smaller Zerg units.

Grrrrrr!

A Hydralisk exploded out from the ground and immediately fired a dozen spines at the ranks of eight armored knights charging toward a small group of Roaches.

"Aaargh!"

The steel plates of the knights were useless against the deadly spines of the Hydralisk. Then, like coiled snake leaping at its enemy, the Hydralisk launched itself upon the surviving knights. The massive weight crushed two knights and their horses, and then the claws shredded apart two more knights. The good steel swords that would have killed a man outright were useless against the tough carapace.

"Lasgunners! Fire!"

At the shouting command of a Colonel, a hundred Guardsmen kneeling and standing in two upright rows fired their lasguns at the Zergs now overwhelming the human soldiers. The humans still outnumbered the Zerg, but the Zerg were far too powerful and far too ferocious in their actions.

The human armies moved back and forth, following the command flags upon on the tower upon a hill, taken by the human armies at an incredible price. Nearly two hundred heavy horses, many with seasoned knights on them, were killed taking the hill. Hydralisks and Roaches had taken root there and it cost the human armies a total of fifteen hundred men just to clear the tower for the first time.

Humans were like that. They placed values in things that were ultimately meaningless. Volran did not make the Hydralisks take the tower and fortify it because he thought it had some strategic value. He decided that it was a good trap to lure the humans to think it important. It was sheer tactical value with which the Zerg had considered the hill and the crude stone tower, now half crumbled under the relentless assaults that had changed the master of the tower many times.

"These humans are worthless. I cannot believe I used to be one of them."

A growling voice was heard high above the ranks of fighting Zergs and men. Volran, the Lord of Ultralisks, looked down from the back of his massive mount. Volran was still the largest of the Overmind's formerly-human commanders. Volran had grown since his hatching, and all the death around him had fed him greatly. He was now standing at just over three meters and his shoulders were as broad as a Space Marine in full Power Armor.

"Kill them all."

Roarrrrr!

The Ultralisk steed roared in reply and every other Ultralisk within Volran's sphere of influence suddenly went into rampage. Then, slowly, the Zerg units began to form a pattern. They began to move in a synchronized movements very much like a massive stampede.

"Humans cannot withstand us."

* * *

><p>Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka!<p>

Bolter made heavy blunt sound and the mighty explosive bolt rounds sped toward the ranks of Chaos Cultists. The deadly accuracy of the Techmarine was unmatched, and even from a range that would normally not allow a Space Marine or a Chaos Marine to shoot with success, he managed to make four kills with four bullets.

"First squad forward!"

At the Techmarine's orders, thirty heavily armored knights on foot charged at the Cultists whose surprise at the ambush was great. Just as the Cultists turned to fire their crude guns at the armored knights, Techmarine Pelagas' boltgun provided an excellent cover.

Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka!

Heads and chests of the Cultists exploded in showers of blood and guts. Brain matter sprayed all over the rest of the Cultists.

"Crossbows!"

A new order allowed a hundred crossbowmen to appear right behind Pelagas and fired their deadly crossbow bolts at the Cultists.

"For Khorne!"

The Khornite Cultists finally found their wits as the crossbow bolts skewered them.

"Kill them!"

"Blood!"

Yet, the Techmarine did not relent.

Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka!

"Second squad! Third squad! Cavalry to the flank!"

More orders were barked at the soldiers of Verin, and they moved like clockwork. Two more groups of knights on foot rushed toward the Cultists who had abandoned their ranged weapons in favor for their melee weapons. Rusted axes and swords and blades clashed against burnished steel. Then heavily armored knights on horses, numbering nearly fifty, appeared from the trees to the south and charged into the southern flank of the Cultists.

"Exterminate the heretics!"

Techmarine further roused the loyalist human soldiers to rally against the Cultists.

"That's enough from you, Loyalist!"

Pelagas turned his head to see where the voice had come from. A Chaos Marine Aspiring Champion appeared from the ranks of Cultists. Both the Techmarine and the Chaos Marine knew that the human soldiers and Cultists were meaningless in this battle. The real fight was between the two Space Marines.

Pelagas was armed with his Master Crafted Bolter, his Servo-arm and the Power Axe on his back. The Chaos Marine was armed with his Daemon-infested boltpistol, a Chain Axe decorated with bronze plated skulls. Two stared at each other, all the while handling their weapons to ready them in battle.

It was Pelagas who made the first move.

Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka!

Pelagas emptied his clip at the Chaos Marine, the modified magazine and the extra ammunition it held quickly being depleted against the traitor Marine. Yet, the Chaos Marine was also a veteran of centuries of war. His rolled to the side, evading most of the bolt rounds, only two rounds making any dents in the Chaos Marine's Power Armor. Then the Chaos Marine returned fire.

Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka! Dakka!

The sounds were same, but the Techmarine was sure that he heard a feint screams of the Daemon behind each flying round. Quickly replacing his magazine, Pelagas sought to fire his venerated weapon at the Chaos Marine, but the Traitor had charged at the Loyalist.

"For Khorne!"

"For the Emperor!"

The two Marines roared their respected warcries as the Chaos Marine swung his Chain Axe, the blades of the axe grinding through the air with such terrible sounds. Yet, the Techmarine did not become a Space Marine for no good reason. He was a veteran also, having served the Chapter in many wars across many worlds. Dropping his bolter, this was chained to a device on his belt that wounded up the chain to secure the bolter to his waist. Then just as he dropped the gun, he reached for his Power Axe while lashing out with his Servo-arm, fitted with powerful drill.

Zzzzzzing! Buzzzzzzz!

In that moment, the Chaos Marine dodged the drill and the Techmarine evaded the Chain Axe. Then, for the next eighteen long minutes, the two Space Marines fought each other with such ferocity and focus that no human soldier or Cultist who got in the way was seen alive afterward as they were torn apart by the flurrying of swinging axes. Dents were seen on both Marines' armors as the Chain Axe grinded through the Techmarine's artificer armor's plating while the Power Axe of the Techmarine cut out big chunks of the Chaos Marine. Though the Chaos Marine moved a little faster but the Techmarine had the advantage of the Servo-arm fitted with a drill. A single mistake could end the duel.

Then a lone crossbow bolt made a lucky hit. It struck the Chaos Marine's left eyebrows, failing to take out the eye, but it was just enough to make the Traitor flinch. His left foot made a move but it stopped a little short of what he wanted, and that was the beginning of the end. The Power Axe cut through the air and struck the Chaos Marine's left knee. Blood gushed out, and before the Chaos Marine could react, Pelagas elbowed the Traitor on the jaw. Then in a brilliant coup-de-grace, the Power Axe swung around and cleanly severed the Chaos Marine's head.

The head rolled, the eyes still open wide with surprise. Behind the head, the Cultists were driven off, killed by crossbows and chased by cavalries. Then the Techmarine gave a final insult to his foe. The Techmarine's right foot came down hard on the Chaos Marine's head, and crushed the head.

"My lord?"

One of the knights, more ornately clad to indicate his high position, came and bowed to Pelagas.

"We are done here. Send message to my brothers. The South Yuvolen Passage is now secure and its Chaos Cult scattered and shattered."

"At once, my lord. What shall we do with this body?"

"I shall burn it beyond recognition. I shall but the body and the armor alike, for neither deserved honorable death."

"Of course, Lord Techmarine."

"We are done here. Gather your men, and prepare to set up a fortification up on that hill. We must hold his passage so that my brothers can receive supplies with regularity."

The knight nodded.

* * *

><p>Months passed as the Zerg finally fortified their positions meeting the jungle. Over five hundred Lurkers and four thousand Banelings supported three hundred Spine Crawlers and Sunken Colonies. More Hatcheries were being mutated and new Nutrient Pits were set up, letting Mega Drones and Drones to begin mining all over the land. Thousands of Zerglings also found themselves in dormant state beneath the ground along with Hydralisks and Roaches. Alena had left the Matriarchs and Patriarchs to prepare for future Ork incursions that both the Overmind and Alena knew would come.<p>

Overmind was focused on pooling enough minions to tackle the problem of the jungle, as the jungle was a little too much even for the hundreds of Drones that harvested the trees. The Orks still infested the jungle, and the Overseers could detect tens of thousands of Orks still milling around beneath the canopy. Meanwhile, the Overmind turned its attention back to the human realm. Elric, Hargen and Volran had finally achieved their objectives. Elric and created a stable forward position in the South while Hargen created a beachhead in the West, while Volran just crippled the army of the most powerful noble in the South.

Alena was slowly moving north, bringing forth many of the veteran creatures. Overmind was quite ready to use all that to dominate this world. The Swarm was ready to step up to the plate. The Swarm was ready to take over the world. Yet, the Swarm would be patient. It had suffered grievous losses of both its forces and its timetable, but the Swarm has learned. It would adapt. It would change. It would evolve.

The Swarm will devour this world.


	30. Chapter 30

Okay! I'm back!

Well, I now got a full time job that I love! So, that's taking a lot of my time. I will try to write some on weekends if I can, but usually I'm really busy~!

In any case, thanks for reading!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 30<br>**

The King had never expected the war against the North to last so long, or become so tragically bad for the Kingdom. The war was entering its third year now, and the Kingdom was in tatters. Nearly a quarter of the East, particularly along the coast and the lands bordering the North, was now under the control of the Chaos Lord Judanus. The name made the King shudder with both rage and fear. The mercenary Chaos Marines and their Cultist armies had continued to pour forth from the Tower of the Techpriest. Though the Duke Verin of the West had somehow employed the real Space Marines to fight the forces of Chaos, the King's armies were being driven back by the forces of Chaos. Had it not been for several heroic commanders in the King's Army, the forces of humans would have been utterly destroyed.

It was also that the forces of Chaos were fighting a three-front war. Though their assaults against the Kingdom were doing well, the fight against the Loyalists and the northern Orks were major distraction for Judanus. Thousands of Orks and their crude weapons were more than a challenge for the Chaos forces taken off guard. The Orks had managed to build nearly three hundred massive dirigibles and dropped thousands of Orks and Nobz deep into the North. Taken by surprise, a dozen smaller Chaos Warbands were destroyed and scattered, their Chaos Marine leaders torn apart by the heavy melee weapons of the Nobz while the Cultists were hunted down by roaming Ork Boyz. That made Judanus mad. He did not expect such hinderance from the Orks.

Judanus summarily executed nine Chaos Marines stationed along the border against the northern Orks. In their place, Judanus placed Chaos Sorcerers and their apprentices on loan from the Thousand Sons. There were deals to be made, and Ahzek Ahriman, the one with whom Judanus had made such deals, still had quite a bit of influence among the sorcerers of the Thousand Sons. Then there were other headaches. Judanus' Loyalist brothers kept on killing the Chaos Marines hired by Judanus. Within the two short years, the Loyalists managed to kill twenty three Chaos Marines and destroyed seventeen warbands. The entire western border was highly volatile thanks to the Loyalists, and Judanus' invasion of the Kingdom was constantly delayed.

In any case, Judanus had now amassed an impressive army from the fragments of destroyed Chaos Warbands or whole Warbands after their leaders were either assassinated by the enemy or executed by Judanus. The land around the Tower of Techpriests, now renamed as the Twisted Tower, was truly hellscape, and in that hellscape were Chaos Cultists. Judanus had quickly filled the land between the outer walls of the Tower of Enginseers, a name given to the whole region given over to the Techpriests, and the Tower of Techpriests, the actual tower in the heart of that walled area. This star-shaped fortification and the central tower were quickly modified by the will and the command of Judanus.

Charred and twisted barracks now covered the ground that once held fantastic garden of power generators, shrines to the God Emperor and laboring Servitors. In those packed barracks lived the Cultists of various kinds, though none were of Nurgle since Judanus was primarily a servant of Tzeentch. Khorne was also worshipped and some did take delights in the perversions of Slaanesh, but most of them quickly converted to the worship of the ever-changing Tzeentch. Hundreds of shrines to the Dark Gods appeared all over the grounds and thousands more beyond the outer walls. Tzeentch must have been pleased by this, otherwise Judanus would not have gained his new mutation.

Judanus was given a pair of hands, fully daemonic in appearance. Adamantine scales of a thousand different colors gleamed from his elbow to fingertip. Long claws now protruded from his fingers, and psychic power, not wholly his but stemming from the single large eye on the back of the hands, crackled through the bones to the claws and it gave Judanus more power than before. He could now send bolts of eldritch energy that could turn people inside and out. Judanus felt good about it. He was getting closer to his goal to become a Daemon Prince. In return for his services, Lilgath the corrupted Apothecary was given a thousand humans for him to slaughter as he pleased.

While Judanus was getting headaches from the Loyalists and the Orks, the Loyalists were also having some headaches of their own. Their war against the Chaos forces was not going well. With the Kingdom and the King still very much hostile to the Duke of Verin and the Space Marines, they had only a limited amount of resources, particularly in terms of manpower. Though the Space Marines did their best to kill individual Chaos Marines leading each warband, there was often not enough manpower to finish off the numerous Cultists afterward. In fact, in trying to fight the ever-growing Chaos forces, the Loyalists were dividing up their already small armies. The Duke wanted to provide more men, but there was the issue of the strange aliens from the South.

The Zerg had advanced over the two years since driving the Warboss Bugklaw back into his jungle. There were still constant fighting within the jungle itself, as the Swarm finally began a counter-invasion. Thousands of Zerglings, Roaches and Hydralisks were poured into the trees, only to meet equal number of Orks waiting in ambush everywhere. The fight between the Orks and the Zerg were intense. There was not a single day that went without causalities in hundreds on both sides. The Zerg blood, filled with Zerg virus, covered every corner of the forest while the Ork spores exploded into action as the war intensified. Yet, the Zerg could not find the Warboss Bugklaw despite trying hard to look for the main cause of their Ork trouble.

Another reason for the slow war against the Orks was the lack of humanoid commanders. Elric was busy slaughtering his way through other baronies and earldoms of the South, which was a tiring work since the domain of the South was massive. Hargen was busy driving his forces northward and trying to infest the coasts of the West. Volran had just finished off the eastern regions of the South, and was pushing into the East, where he met heavy resistance from the powerful nobles of the East. Only Alena was available, but she was sent far north on a secret mission and could not be spared.

* * *

><p>In any case, the Zerg had now dominated the Far South, and nearly two third of the South was now in the hands, or the claws, or the Swarm. This presented a new problem for the King. The King was alerted about the Zerg almost a year ago, but his hands were tied. Honestly, he did not think these new creatures to be any serious danger until the reported suggested that half of the South had fallen to these creatures. The King's failure to immediately respond had cost the Kingdom dearly. Already well over nine hundred thousand civilians have been slaughtered while tens of thousands of children were abducted by a new Zerg species, the Caretaker.<p>

Caretakers were giant maggot-like creatures about as big as Infesters, but instead of slabs of hard carapace there were small pieces of carapace fitted together in a way that allows the Caretakers to contort their bodies in such flexible way that they can move within the Zerg structures or underground at speed much greater than they would on the ground. In between these carapace armor pieces were folded insectoid legs like those of millipedes. Inside the carapace armor, Caretakers were soft and jelly-like, and their internal organs were all concentrated around the outside, leaving the core part empty but for the thick milk-like ooze. This ooze made the Caretaker very important.

The ooze was mostly water, but added with certain specialized molecules of oxygen and condensed nutrients. For now, this ooze was used to keep alive the children kidnapped by the Zerg. Of course, only the children with psychic potential were kidnapped by the Zerg, and each Caretaker would carry up to a hundred children and deliver them to the Primary Hive Cluster. Caretakers could also secrete another fluid into the ooze that allowed any Zerg creature that consumed the ooze to regenerate at high speed. Before the Caretakers, only the Roach-variants and other larger creatures with the added Roach-ability could regenerate at such speed. With the Caretakers, even lesser creatures could benefit from the healing factor without wasting so much energy like the Queens do. Though the Queens' Transfusion ability was immediate and powerful, the psionic energy and biological energy used up by each Transfusion was enormous while Caretakers were designed to 'enhance' the Zerg's natural regeneration factor. Like Tomb Spyders of Necrons, the Caretakers could swallow many Zerg creatures and heal them within their own belly. Indeed, the Caretakers were not just designed for kidnapping human children, but designed to work as APC for the Zerg forces that would allow the Zerg to deploy in areas where insertion through Overlords or Nydus Worm was possible.

In the Primary Hive Cluster there were two new types of Zerg structures being morphed into being. The first was the Cerebral Cluster, where the brains of the kidnapped children with a little less psychic power than expected are extracted and tied to a network of Zerg nerve fibers. The bodies of those particular children, now brainless, were connected to different Zerg nerve fibers that replaced the brain and spine of each of those bodies, now floating within even thicker ooze that feeds the bodies. The second new structure was the Hybrid Module, a tall and broad structure that was designed to produce hybrid creatures for the Swarm. The Overmind had already found how to create the Hybrid Destroyer and Hybrid Reaver, the two powerful hybrid species. However, the structure would also develop and produce other variants of hybrids, including Zerg-human hybrid, Protoss-human-Zerg hybrid.

As for the children's bodies without their original brains, they were given certain drugs that allowed the bodies to grow to maturity. In their mature bodies, these human bodies would work, using their human hands to create mechanical objects that the Zerg simply could not create. The original Zerg could manipulate circuits but could not make them, but the New Swarm was using these husks to create themselves tools and machines. Already, minerals refined by the Hatcheries, Lairs and Hives were fed directly into the Cerebral Cluster, where a biological forge turned the metals into useful form. Of course, there was the option of absorbing machines of the humans, such as those of the Loyalist Space Marines or Chaos Marines, but that would seriously limit the Zerg. It would increase the Zerg's dependency on capturing of other species' technology. Already, the capturing of psyker children had meant that the Zerg would never entirely wipe out humans on this world. Because of the long history with the Warp Storm surrounding the planet, most of the population had psyker genes activated and each generation has more potential-psykers than the previous. It was the perfect harvesting ground for the Zerg.

The Swarm was well aware of its dependency on its human livestock that produced psykers, and they began preparation to farm the humans. Elric and Hargen were in charge of this preparation. Across the baronies and earldoms destroyed by Elric, Hargen designed plots of new villages at the best locations. The Swarm wished to maintain the human population at such level that they would be no trouble in any situation while maintaining the number enough to produce the psyker children in large enough numbers to fuel the Swarm's desires. These plots were calculated to contain at least 500 families with potential population expansion of up to 1500 more humans. Thus, each village would maintain about 5000 humans at maximum. Also, considering 500 families, and the incredible 0.5% potential for psykers among the humans of this world, each village would produce around 2 psyker children that Zerg could use. Of course, other children would have the potential but they would be left behind to produce more children with the potential.

Eventually, the Swarm intended to artificially inseminate villagers and brainwash them so that they would serve the Swarm with their body, their mind and their soul. The Overmind determined that when the villagers were evolved enough, there would be a new Zerg creature going around the villages to artificially inseminate the villages' females. In preparing for such eventually, a little of the human side reared its head within the Overmind. There were two words that floated in the Overmind's consciousness for a while, and the words were 'tentacle sex', and for some reason the Overmind laughed hard at the thought.

* * *

><p>~Hahahahaha! TENTACLE SEX! Hahahaha! Oh, man! I piss myself sometimes. Wait... I do not use these vocabulary to express my mirth... and I do have mirth...~<p>

I caught myself laughing at my thought. Something human stirred inside me once again. I had long thought that my human side had become dormant and became fully under control. I only used that human side when I was talking with Alena, and that was before her maturation was complete. Her humanity was utterly stripped when she was in her body, and even in the dream-state, she was no longer the girl. She was a woman now, though her emotions were not quite human anymore. Elric, Hargen and Volran maintained their humanity as they were older, but Alena was absorbed into the Swarm while she was still very young. She was raised by me in a unique setting, and once getting past the infatuation stage of her teenage years, her emotions were calmed and became like the sea. She still felt happiness, rage and such strong emotions, but most of her other emotions were greatly suppressed. Jealousy, hubris, mercy or sympathy were not there. She would be happy and enjoy the company of Toby, Elric, Hargen, Volran and myself, but once outside, she was like a terrible storm upon the dark sea.

My laughter had a great impact on the Swarm. For that brief second, my laughter translated into a massive psychic wave across the planet. It did mean that I had grown as a psychic being, and even compared to the daemons just outside that thin barrier that protected this Warp-encased planet from a devastating daemonfall, I was incredible. My senses, my perception of the world had grown over the years, and as more and more Zerg were born, I was getting stronger and stronger. Each soul consumed by my creatures kept feeding me and I grew bigger and my own 'soul' became much denser than before. Of course, these realization hit me when Overlords, Overseers and Hiveseers reported the Orks suddenly falling back in panic while Chaos Sorcerers suddenly falling to their knees and clutching their heads in pain. Even some humans suddenly burst into hysterical laughter, and it was suspected that they were potential psykers. As for my own creatures, every Zerg creature except for Drones and Overlord-variants suddenly danced and shrieked.

From all that, I realized how much I had grown, and in that realization, I fell into a sort of trance. For three weeks, only the Zerg creatures under the command of my Infested Human commanders such as Alena and Elric were functioning aside from the Drones and Overlords. Creatures just hunkered down and burrowed into the ground as if they were linked to me in a way far deeper than I had previously realized. Even those under the control of human commanders were sluggish in their movements and highly ineffective in combat. For those three weeks, as reported to me by my human commanders, the Swarm was in full retreat. The Orks retook the jungle, though they could not find the Zerg forces, since they were all burrowed and hunkered down. The humans managed to reinforce several key positions against the Swarm and nearly eighty thousand men were added to the already formidable defending army of sixty thousand men including a thousand Imperial Guards and eight thousand heavy cavalry. As for the Chaos, they suffered the most from my laughter. The Chaos Sorcerers suffered long from the psychic impact. Without their commanders, the Rubric Marines on loan from Thousand Sons were ineffective and the Chaos forces were forced retreat against the Orks of the North. The Loyalist managed to get some rest and reorganize their forces during those three weeks.

However, things turned around when I broke out from trance. I became something greater. I was still myself, but now I was greater. I was no longer afraid of my human side, as it was now utterly under my control. I could now be as human as I wanted to be without compromising what I am. This upgrade to myself impacted the Swarm. First to feel this were my human commanders. The connection between myself and them were strengthened in ways that I had never imagined. Now I could communicate with them over great distances and without the need for Overlords or some such relays. As for my lesser creatures, I realized that they would no longer become feral even if their commander was lost. Even without a single Overlord, a Zerg force would fall back in organized fashion to minimize casualties, or burrow into the ground and fool the enemy into a lull. Of coursed, organized battle would still be impossible without command nodes like Overlords but this tiniest difference could be massive in the long run.

~I am the OVERMIND! It is time!~

With my renewed vigor, I ordered the removal of the single most annoying opponents on this world, the Warboss Bugklaw.

* * *

><p>Tens of thousands of Zerg creatures gathered before the jungle, whose edges were desiccated under the toxic influence of the Creep. Thousands of Zerglings swarmed about in large droves with Raptors and Velociraptors in charge. Roach-variants and Hydralisk-variants set themselves around bigger but more fragile creatures like Queens, Infesters and Caretakers to protect the latter creatures from any danger. Also, Ultralisks by dozens were deployed along with Banelords, the Ultralisk-based Zerg artillery creature. While also armed with Kaiser Blades, a Banelord fires two modified Banelings that exploded upon impact. Capable of throwing the explosive Banelings over long distances, Banelords were the answer to the Zerg's lack of ground-basede long ranged support. Then there were three Omegalisks. Refined over the years, the design of the Omegalisk was complete. Uberlisk was considered but eventually scrapped and mixed with the new Omegalisk. The new Omegalisk also had the DNA of the Squiggoth merged into it. It was a huge creature, easily matching the size of a Gargantuan Squiggoth, but with greater resilience and battle focus as well as keen instinct for tactics.<p>

The new Omegalisk was the Swarm's first attempt at the creation of a Bio-Titan. Since the Imperium had Titans and all the other races had them, the Zerg needed them also. The Brutalisk was a failure in that regard, but the Swarm incorporated elements of the Brutalisk into the Omegalisk as well. The Omegalisk's carapace is studded with sharp, vibrating and twitching thorns that react to any melee attack, thus damaging any enemy that dares to assail the huge Omegalisk in melee. Of course, this was designed against Orks and Tyranids rather than Imperials or the Chaos. The four spiked tentacles would make short work of any lesser enemies while the four large Warp-blade encased Kaiser Blades would take care of the larger enemies like tanks or Squiggoths or Trygons. With the Ultralisks were now born in sizes that would match Carnifexes, the Omegalisks had to be bigger and meaner, and certainly bigger and meaner they were.

Infesters and Caretakers were under the direct command of the Queens that were surrounded by small hordes of upgraded Zerglings. These were modified Zerglings, since Zerglings were so easy to modify. These had larger body with thicker carapace but with normal claws, having been sacrificed for other parts to be improve their role as cannon-fodders against the incoming attacks against psionic units. Commanded by the Queens, these fattened Zerglings and Beetles (Roach-variant with heavier carapace) would work more like the Tyrant Guards. Their pain responses were dulled by the sheer will of the Queens and they would swarm and move like a single creature to defend the precious psionic creatures. Also, there were two dozen other Queens, each with extra padding of carapace, a little more powerful spine-shooting muscles. These Queens were commanding Hydralisks, Lurkers and any ranged Zerg creatures. The Zerg were prepared to take on the Orks in the South jungle.

* * *

><p>"Hey! It's da klikity bugz!"<p>

"Wot? Dey 'ere 'gain? Then it's time fa WAAAGH!"

Guttural conversations between the Ork Boyz were quickly spreading as several Gretchens confirmed the impending Zerg attack.

"WOT! Bugs! To Waaagh, Boyz!"

"Waaagh is fun!"

"Huh? Wot's dat?"

This conversation was cut short.

Roooaaarrr!

An Ultralisk exploded out from the ground below the dozen or so Orks and spent them flying all over along with the uprooted trees. Right behind the Ultralisks came Zerglings and Banelings in large droves. Fanning out like water overflowing out of a cup, the Zerg creatures launched themselves at the Orks. Of the several Orks that were not affected by the Ultralisk's sudden appearance, most of them were ready to fight back.

The leader of this group of Orks was a Nob, tall and heavy and carried a large power axe.

"Come on ya gitz! I gonna shew yoo wot's it mean to fight me!"

As if answering his challenge, four Zerglings charged at the Nob. The Nob's power axe swung horizontally, cleanly severing a Zergling in two, but the Zerglings were fast, and they were on the Nob at once. However, the Nob was an experienced fighter who had fought the Zerglings in many previous engagements. Grabbing another Zergling by the throat just as the creature tried to bit off his face, the Nob smashed the Zergling at third Zergling, their heads smashing together and breaking under the sheer impact. In that moment, the last Zergling jumped on top of the Nob and was about to strike.

"I'm not so easy!"

The Nob blocked the first attack with the flat side of the axe and moved his shoulder to drop the Zergling from his own body, and then swung at the Zergling with his axe without a moment of hesitation. A large diagonal gash appeared on the Zergling's body and its organs spilled. The Nob was pleased.

"SEE! I da powerful Nob!"

Yet, his boasting was far too premature and far too wrong. As he turned around to fight more Zerglings, he found himself surrounded three Hydralisks, two Roaches, nine Zerglings, two Raptors, a Baneling and the Ultralisk from before. In his frenzy to kill four Zerglings, the Nob did not watch his surroundings. The Boyz were so quickly wiped out that the Nob could not notice the slaughter.

"WOT IS DIS! YOU..."

The Nob could not finish his word as his head was instantly severed by a Hunter hiding to his left under cloak.

* * *

><p>Thousands of Zerg creatures rushed through the trees. Zerglings covered the land like Creep spreading, while Raptors and their Velociraptor leaders scouted ahead, taking down small bands of Orks in their way. Behind the thick lines of Zerglings followed a stampede of greater Zerg creatures. This incursion did not go unnoticed by the Orks that lived in the jungle. Like a dog smelling its treat, the Orks were alerted to the strange sense of excitement in the air. One by one, bands of Orks began to head north. They joined up, and grew bigger. The wild and feral Orks of the Jungle, the tough and rough Orks of the Southern Tundra and the cunning and tech-savvy Orks of the archipelago began to mingle and formed larger warbands. Then minor Warbosses finally took notice and took their Waaagh! Toward north to meet the Zergs.<p>

On the second day of the Zerg incursion, the waves of Zerglings met their first groups of Orks, but forty six bands of unorganized Orks driven by the crudest sense of tactics could not handle the unbroken ribbon of Zerglings stretching for miles to either side. Swarmed and overwhelmed by the thousands of Zerglings and their cunning Raptor cousins, these handful of Orks, though still numbering well over 2000 in total, were torn apart within minutes. The claws of the Zerglings were sharper now and harder and their arm muscles were more powerful than before. In the real world, even a little upgrade was enough to be devastating. With the infinite resources at its command, the Swarm was able to implement as much upgrades as they wanted, and the Zerglings used that to shred the Orks into bits and pieces.

On the third day, the Zerg met harder foes. 4 large Warbands with mechanized units and sixty one smaller bands of Orks were encountered by the Zerglings and then by the larger units following closely by. Four thousand well-armed Orks from the Warbands with their Looted Tanks, Deffdreads and other Ork vehicles were hard enough, but over six thousand Orks clashing with Zerglings across the entire jungle was a challenge indeed. Queens, Matriarchs and Patriarchs moved here and there, trying to manage the battles with greater efficiency and ferocity, and slowly pushed the Orks back. For nearly 11 hours, the two sides fought without a moment's rest. Then, with the death of two minor Warbosses, the destruction of a mighty Looted Predator Tank, the Orks began to break. Within an hour, the Ork lines began to falter and then they broke. Yet, the Zerg could not allow the Orks to escape so easily. Of the ten thousand or so Orks that engaged the Zerg, only a mere three hundred escaped the pursuing Raptors.

Yet, the sacrifice of ten thousand Orks halted the Zerg advance, or so it seemed. Instead of Zergs retreated or building colonies, a hundred Overlords descended. Creep was spread around and sprayed on the trees themselves. Following the Zerg forces, the Creep Tumors had been surging south. Then the Queens and their variants laid more Creep Tumor while the Overlords dropped Drones. These eight hundred Drones knew their tasks. They began to place Spine Crawlers, Sunken Colonies and Spore Crawlers. A dozen Nydus Worms appeared behind the Zerg line and spewed forth reinforcements. Caretakers liberally sprayed their healing ooze upon their comrades. Then they waited.

After waiting a day, the Zerg began to move again on the dawn of the fifth day, and this time, the Zerg had even larger army in play. There were at least thirty thousand Zerglings, and this number did not include two thousand Raptors and Velociraptors. Roaches and their variants also numbered nearly ten thousand and Hydralisks at about half the number of Roaches. Then with nearly three thousand other creatures, the Zerg army was just over fifty thousand units. Of course, this number would not be so serious on worlds ready for war, but the Orks were taken by surprise. For two more days, the Zerg forces waded through the jungle and destroyed several thousand Orks trying to fight back in their small bands. However, the Orks had already lost half the jungle to the Zerg within the first week of war.

* * *

><p>Yet, the Orks, or more precisely the Warboss Bugklaw, were not to be underestimated. The Overmind, having recently expanded his awareness, spread out his Overlords and Overseers all over the planet, rather than just in the continent where the Swarm lived. It was thanks to one of these Overlords that the Zerg detected then impending flanking move by Warboss Bugklaw.<p>

A naval Warfleet, consisting of over eighty battlecruiser-sized ships and one hundred seventy large vessels led by the Bugklaw's personal dreadnought, was approaching the South. Launched from the archipelago, Bugklaw's Warfleet had already nearly reached the eastern shores of the South, where Volran had worked hard to conquer. The east coastal areas of the South was now a breeding ground for Ultralisks. The Overmind and Volran let the Ultralisks roam the ground, feeding them fodders of local predators and captured human warriors. Captured knights and soldiers and mercenaries were dumped in different places, leaving them to arm themselves with weapons abandoned by the former human residents and use the castles and keeps that were still somewhat useable. These humans would soon be killed and devoured by Ultralisks.

It was the coast of this particular area that the Orks attempted to land. It was a surprise attack indeed, but even by a day of advanced intelligent had changed the game. The Overmind quickly redeployed Volran with everything that could be spared. Losing the area not only meant losing hundreds of powerful Ultralisks but the Swarm would lose a direct sea route to the East, where the invasion was planned next. Local Zerg colonies and their commanders were alerted, and thousands of Zerg creatures prepared for battle. On the sixth day of the Zerg's incursion into the jungle, the Ork fleet arrived on the coast and let loose nearly one hundred fifty thousand Orks.


	31. Chapter 31

Another chapter! Yay!

Now, there is a problem.

Should I choose 4th Edition Necrons or the shitty 5th Edition Necrons?  
>I have read the 5th Edition... and Necron background story is no longer cool... By adding nobility and internal fighting crap, they turned the Necrons into just another undead army.<br>Before the 5th edition, the mindless focus on slaughter of all living things... was really cool.

However, I will choose this depending on the opinions of my readers.

5th Edition Necron or Pre-5th Edition Necron

And the name 'Prideland' was created thanks to a reviewer! Way to go!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 31<strong>

The backdrop of over two hundred horribly built naval 'ships' patched up with whatever metal that Orks could find was no sight of beauty. Yet, in the eyes of an Ork, the sight would have been an awesome one. Over one hundred fifty thousand Orks were united under the might and charisma of the great Warboss Bugklaw. Scores of lesser Warbosses roamed the field with their mobs of Nobs, gathering to them as many Ork Boyz as they could. Yet, none of them could make a single move until the great Warboss Bugklaw disembarked from the massive dreadnought of a ship. Though it could not be compared to the truly massive starships, Bugklaw's dreadnought was currently the single largest machine on the surface of the whole planet. Reaching nearly three kilometers in length alone, it carried nearly three thousand Orks, consisting mostly of Bugklaw's personal Nobs.

Of course, the ships could have carried more Orks had they not ferried Ork vehicles as well. Nearly two hundred Looted Tanks, several hundred lesser vehicles and over a hundred Deffdreads were quickly fielded under the threat of Bugklaw's rage. Then from the Warboss' mighty dreadnought descended a truly mighty vehicle of the Imperium now so savaged at the hand of the crude and brutish Orks. An Imperial Guard Baneblade, formerly belonging to the original Imperial Guards who crash-landed on this planet, was now the sign of Bugklaw's power. Looted Baneblade was no less impressive in its size or in its armaments. The vehicle was not entirely a Baneblade, as the crashing of the original starship had torn the mighty vehicle into pieces, and the Ork Meks had spent last five hundred years putting it back together under the orders of various Warbosses who took over the project after killing their predecessor.

Bugklaw was the latest and the last of the Warbosses who took over the project. Tearing Warboss Bigjaw into two pieces, the Warboss Bugklaw ordered three perfectly normal Looted Tanks to be torn apart to provide parts for the 'big tank thingy'. Thus the Looted Baneblade now had engines of two Leman Russ and a Predator in its engine compartment, and extra weapons were stuck on the turret. Bugklaw, did not care for the aesthetics, however, and he was pleased with the size, number of weapons and the bright red color.

"Oke-ey, Boyz! We in da Bugs' land now, and we's gonna take it fer us-selves! To Waaagh! To Waaagh!"

Orks needed very little oratory to get them roused, and rouse them he did. Thousands of Orks raised their primitive weapons into the air and roared 'Waaagh!' as they readied for war. Like waves of green death, the Ork armies fanned out into the 'Prideland of Ultralisks'.

* * *

><p>The 'Prideland' was the name that Volran called this domain that was given to him by the Overmind. Seeing Volran's affinity with the Ultralisks, the Overmind allowed Volran to breed the Ultralisks in any way that the former human wanted. In the two years since the conquest nearly thirty colonies were built in the Prideland, and almost a thousand Ultralisks were created and then let loose into the fields, where captured human warriors roamed the land. Already, Volran had managed to make nearly a hundred Ultralisks into a more powerful and hulking creatures. These uber-Ultralisks were not only greater in their sizes and in their combat ability. They somehow developed keener sense of tactics. They weren't really sentient like the Queen-variants or the former human commanders, but they began to exert enough psionic field to command the lesser creatures like Zerglings and Banelings to do their bidding, in both defending themselves with walls of Zerglings or weakening the enemies with waves of Banelings.<p>

Thus, the Prideland was the key in further developing the Ultralisk strain of the Zerg, and Volran felt strong connection and pride in his domain. The new of Ork invasion directly against his Prideland had sent Volran into a devastating rage. Commanded by the Overmind, Volran roused every Zerg in his Prideland. Though the Prideland seemingly feature only the Ultralisks and Zerglings, both race of Zerg being fast-moving roamers, the colonies had not been idle in the two years. Indeed, as the Orks got off the sandy beaches and moved into the grassland that used to be farmland two years ago, the true number of Zerg was displayed.

For two years, the thirty colonies, each with an average of five Hatchery-variants, produced units. With current setting at 10 Larvae per every 12 hours, each Hatchery could produce 20 units per day. Having said so, there have been approximately 360 days of uninterrupted production in a year. Even considering the number of other units produced, there were easily millions of Zerglings. In fact, with almost half the units created were Zerglings, and as four Zerglings are born per Larvae now, there were at least 4 million Zerglings, and only a little less because many became Banelings or killed by humans warriors. In any case, Volran promised to himself that the Orks will not leave his Prideland alive. After all, he had millions of Zerglings alone, and he still had a thousand experienced Ultralisks and several thousands more ready to pop out of special cocoons that kept the Ultralisks in stasis. In fact, such was the case for other parts of Zerg domain as well. Millions of Zerglings and hundreds of thousands of other species of Zerg units were burrowed and hiding all over the vast dominion under the Zerg. The only reason that the Zerg utilized small numbers was to test out their units rather than simply overwhelming the enemy with numbers.

Volran descended upon the Ork forces stretched over many miles across a ruined barony and few hills. Several crude Ork structures were under construction with all their guns and weapons being the first to be completed in a structure. Bugklaw was smart. He began his own invasion by constructing a mighty fortification to fall back to. He knew that he was invading into the heart of enemy land, be it human or the Zerg. Three hills and a large tract of flatland was converted into an Ork military complex within a surprisingly short time. Walls were up within the first day, while scores of Ork towers with Big Shootas built into them. Orks instinctively felt that defenses were important in this campaign. They built their strange buildings where Boyz could take rest in between fighting and areas were Squigs were raised to feed the Orks as well as armory and garage for the vehicles.

This fortification had been an excellent idea. For five days, the Ork armies fanned out into the Prideland and attempted to find anything to fight. All they found in that time were few pockets of human warriors who were so not entertaining. Then things changed. Zerg began to appear... everywhere. Groups of Zerg units, usually thousands in number, ambushed Ork Warbands here and there, appearing and disappearing so fast and so suddenly that the Orks could not give chase. Even at night hundreds of Zerg units of various kinds popped out from the ground and wreaked havoc on the Ork Warbands, and when Weird Boyz or Mekboys goes to investigate any traces of hidden enemies, they would find none. The next ten days were hell for the Orks as their Warbands began to find themselves cut off from each other and surrounded by numbers so numerous that the Orks were outnumbered at least 25 to 1. Smaller Warbands were quickly ground and pummeled into nothing while bigger Warbands were shredded bit by bit.

Only the Warboss Bugklaw's Warband remained strong and actually caused terrible casualty upon the assaulting Zerg forces. His forces did have most of the vehicles and biggest Orks, and like ferocious beasts they were, the Orks fought each and every Zerg attack with fury that made the savagery of Zerglings like it was nothing. Axes and swords clashed with claws, and bullets were flying alongside spines and acids. Bugklaw was indeed smart, and he knew that his forces couldn't really take on the Zerg when the Zerg forces so obviously outnumbered the Orks. Of course, such things were never heard of by the Orks on this world, and it was still many years before the first encounter with the Tyranids so that not even the rest of the galaxy rarely heard of a case where Orks were outnumbered by anyone. Indeed, only on rare occasions Imperial Guards or the Daemons of Chaos would outnumber an already broken Ork army. Yet, the Zerg outnumbered the Orks so vastly that it was truly horrific and amazing, despite the fact that it was inevitable. Lesser Zerg units, such as Zerglings were born in matter of hours, and with establishments of Hatcheries and their variants, they continue to produce units day in and day out. Orks, on the other hand, did take a few years to really mature into Boyz, and although this was faster than humans, who took around 16 to 18 years to mature, the speed of maturation of each generation was far too different.

As the millions of Zergs continued to corral the scattered Ork Warbands back toward the coast, the Warboss Bugklaw made a brave call. He summoned back all the Warbands back to the Ork fortification near the coast. It appeared that he was going make a last stand against the Zerg. Volran was still infuriated and did not think for a second before sending his mighty army against the Orks in an all-out attack. A thousand Ultralisks and nearly two million Zerglings converged upon the large Ork fortification. The Ork army of 150,000 was now reduced to a mere 90,000, but most of the Ork vehicles were still very much active. Zerglings simply threw themselves against the crude walls. They clawed their way up the walls and jumped and leaped over the lower fences as the rainstorm of Ork bullets peppered them literally to death. Yet, there were so many Zerglings. Like waves crashing upon rocks and cliffs, the Zergling forces assailed the Ork fortification with such vehemence that the Boyz were very excited. Axes and swords once again struck the hard carapace of the Zerglings as they continued to climb up the crude wall. Then the Ultralisks came. Like rampaging elephants, the thousand Ultralisks stampeded their way to the wall at such speed that instantly broke down the walls. Of course, the Zerglings on the ground suddenly burrowed into the ground, giving way to the Ultralisks, and though many Zerglings dangling on the walls died from the attacks of the Ultralisks, the wall was finally down.

The moment that those Ultralisks entered the fortification, Zerglings popped out from the ground once more and rushed into the complex, where the towers and buildings fired their guns from the rooftops. Nobz poured through between the buildings and smashed and cleaves the Zerglings aside while Looted Tanks and other Ork artillery pieces located in good protected positions fired their shells upon the Ultralisks with impunity. Explosive shells rained down on the Ultralisks. Despite the heavy carapace, not even the Ultralisks could handle large explosives blowing up upon them. Still, there were so many Ultralisks, and despite hundreds of Deffdreads stepping up and engaging the Ultralisks in a deadly melee. Despite the hardy defence put up by the Orks, particularly with the Warboss Bugklaw using the Looted Baneblade to cause great devastation upon the Zerg forces. Vorlan had arrived at the edge of the Ork fortification and was watching with a sadistic glee on his face as his Ultralisks and Zerglings tore through the Orks. He was thinking that he was going to take out the Warboss Bugklaw who really caused annoyance for the Zerg.

* * *

><p>Once again, the Overmind had underestimated the Warboss Bugklaw, and this time, Volran underestimated the great Ork as well. The Ork fleet had returned at the right time and it was larger this time. Warboss Bugklaw had built the fortification on the coast for this reason, and he had managed to fool the Zerg into focusing the army against this fortification. No one would have thought that the Warboss Bugklaw would throw himself as the bait to hook the 'big thing'. Artillery shells from the Ork fleet came down like plumes of black smokes, and they exploded with thundering death. Each explosion took out hundreds of Zerglings and even Ultralisks began to succumb to the intense bombardment. Volran quickly returned the Overlords watching the fortification back out into the sea to observe the Ork fleet, and he saw hundreds of thousands of Orks on large barges being ferried to shore from the Ork fleet. In fact, the Ork fleet was even larger now, and there were several very large aircraft-carrier-like vessels. It was then the Overlords were struck with Rokkits and hails of bullets. Just as the last Overlord exploded into a falling bucket of flesh and blood, Volran and the Overmind saw hundreds of Fightas and Fighta-Bommas as well as three very large flying vessels that were obviously a drop ship of some kind, seeing the hundreds of Stormboyz hanging on them.<p>

Bombs rained down on the Ultralisks and Zerglings, and they, having little or no ranged weapons to attack the air units, were helpless against the devastating attacks. There were about fifty or so Banelords and a hundred Omegalisks, but they did not have the Spore Crawler implants, a variant that the Overmind had developed. There were hundreds of eggs with such variants in them, but none were with Volran's army. Indeed, despite knowing that the Orks had Deffkoptas and Fighta-Bommas, Volran did not think that Orks could bring such weapons all the way over the sea. This was due to the lack of intelligence about the real location of Bugklaw's staging ground. The fact that the Zerg did not know that the archipelago contained most of the Ork population on this planet, and many cargo from the original Imperial ship fell upon those islands, was a devastating mistake. This mistake was a mortal one. Bombs killed Ultralisks by dozens and when the Deffkoptas finally began to show as they flew out from the Ork-carriers, the Zerglings were in deep trouble as well. Also, the extra two hundred fifty thousand Orks, though with no more vehicles, was a big problem. The Zerg forces within the Ork fortification was quickly surrounded and despite the greater number, the Zerg army had lost all cohesion. Volran attempted to reassert control, but with Fightas and Fighta-Bommas shooting down every Overlord and Overseer they could see, Volran's control area was greatly reduced.

Volran did not give up, however. He rallied what force he could. Eleven Omegalisks, two Banelords, two hundred or so Raptors and a thousand Zerglings rallied around him, and Volran charged forward. More Zerglings joined him as they entered his area of control, and Volran threw the units against the Orks barring his path toward the great Ork himself. Riding upon his special Ultralisk mount, Volran suddenly swelled in size. This was his latest evolution. He could temporarily enlarge himself so that he could fight big enemies, and while in this frenzied mode, his wounds healed really fast. The price was the psionic energy and life force, but he had the Defiler's Consume ability, and there were still many Zerglings around him.

"ORK!"

Volran's voice was loud, and Bugklaw heard it.

"Ah! A fight! Boyz! Get'im!"

Hundreds of Nobz, in various levels of armor and armament, attacked the oncoming Zerg force. It was utter chaos as the Zerg forces fought in frenzy as the Nobz did also. The Looted Baneblade constantly fired every weapon it had against the thousands of Zergs all rallied by Volran. The Banelords also continued to pour out explosive Banelings that showered the Orks with green acid, while the Omegalisks cleaved their way through with Kaiser Blades and Impaler Tentacles.

Volran was in frenzy also. As his steed pounded and struck with its own attacks, Volran's spines fired from his body down at the Orks. Though almost void of ranged weapons, Volran did have the Hydralisk Spine attacks, and he sprayed Corruption acid against Nobz, letting the Zerglings and Raptors to tear into them.

"Hey! You! You think you can really kill me? I da big Warboss Bugklaw! Waaagh!"

The Ork fired Baneblad cannon at Volran's Ultralisk steed. The first shot to the head was blocked by the massive carapace that Ultralisks carried on their head, but the second struck one of the front legs, and the leg exploded. Volran did not care. He simply launched himself from the falling mount and leaped toward the Warboss, just as Zerglings surrounded the Looted Baneblade and through themselves against the cannons and guns. The bodies of Zerglings began to get inside the barrels or moving bits. Then Ultralisks came and chopped off one of the cannons.

"You! Not me tank! Why, I'll krush ya!"

Bugklaw pulled his lower half out from the large hatch, and climbed aboard the tank, and watched as Volran landed right in front of the massive tank. Bugklaw was over 6 meters now, and full of Ork muscles with hundreds of Zerg body-bits crudely sewn into his body. His chest was protected by two outer carapace of Beetles, the hardier variant of Roaches, while his hands and elbow had Hydralisk claws stuck on them. His left arm, was now completely replaced by mechanical arm, but the exterior was covered in dozens of Zerg claws and the Power Klaw's 'klaw' bit was made from Hydralisk claws.

Volran, on the other hand, was barely 4 meters even in his enlarged form. Yet, fields of power surrounded him. Powerful Protoss Plasma shield with Hardened Shield protected him, while his six Kaiser Blades were pulsating with the deadly energy of the Dark Templar Warp Blades, making them capable of cutting through almost anything. Indeed, this was shown when Volran jumped aboard the Looted Baneblade and struck the driver's seat with his Kaiser Blades. Like hot butter through very soft butter, the tank armor was pierced by the Kaiser Blades and the Ork driver inside was also killed.

"Hey, dis is MY tank!"

The Warboss slammed down with his Power Klaw, just as Volran jumped out of the way. Yet, the Warboss was as cunning as he was brutal. The moment he slammed down with his Power Klaw, he raised his right arm and fired the tri-barreled Autocannon that his Big Mek made for him. Salvaged from the Imperial Guard Autocannon, the Mekboys stuck three together and fed the ammo through a belt that reached to Bugklaw's back, where the ammo casing was.

Blam! Blam! Blam!

The shield flashed and hexagonal shapes appeared and blocked the three attacks, reducing the heavy damage into a minor one. If it hadn't for the Hardened Shield, Volran's shield may have depleted rather quickly. Volran quickly leaped forward to get at the Bugklaw.

"I will kill you Ork!"

"Kill me? Haha! I's gonna kill ya first!"

Volran swung his Kaiser Blades in deadly moves of successive strikes, but the Warboss was well-armed. Volran's attacks were blocked by deep orange energy field. It was a Refractor Field generated from the generator hidden under the Warboss' armor.

"I got all the gud bitz! Haha!"

Blam! Blam! Blam!

Another shot of Autocannon pushed Volran off the disabled tank. The Warboss jumped after him, and he fired more shells at Volran.

Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam!

Volran took two of the shots but he managed to evade the rest, but just as he stood up, an Ork Nob came up behind him. Volran's Zerg senses were good enough to detect that. Volran spun around, flailing his Kaiser Blades with that spin, and the Nob was instantly sliced into seven pieces. However, this distraction proved bad for the Infested Human commander. A slam of Power Klaw struck Volran's back, and though the shield held once more, Volran knew that it would not last long.

With a quick mental command, seven Zerglings suddenly rushed the Warboss.

"Wot? Sending yur bugz at me! Haha!"

Crack! Skree~ Crack!

The Warboss grabbed one of the Zerglings with his Power Klaw and squeezed. The carapace of the Zergling cracked in an unnatural way and the creature screamed. Then the Warboss slammed that dead Zergling at another while fired his Autocannon at the third. Fourth and fifty Zerglings got on the Ork's back and the sixth jumped to claw off the face of the Ork. However, an Ork Warboss is never an easy target to fight. A quick kick and slam had the sixth Zergling smashed into pieces under the giant Warboss's foot, while the fifth Zergling was caught by the Power Klaw and the fourth were shaken off then took three rounds of Autocannon shells.

Volran, however, took this chance and attacked the Warboss, and though most of his attacks were blocked by the renewed Refractor Field, one of the Kaiser Blades managed to leave a large gash on the Warboss' chest, leaving through the carapace and the metal armor underneath, and it made the Ork bleed. Seeing his own blood, the Warboss Bugklaw went into a psychotic rage, fired his cannon and slamming down with his Power Klaw with impunity. Volran was truck by four of such shells from the Autocannon and the shield was drained by the third shot while the fourth cracked his carapace. Then one of the Gretchen-carrying bombs of Ork Fighta-Bommas exploded right behind him.

Volran shook his head as he woke up. He was still stunned from the bomb, and despite the Zerg senses warning him, he could not get up fast enough to dodge the Warboss. Bugklaw grabbed Volran by two of the tentacles on the back and lifted him up.

"What?"

Volran could see the two blood-shot eyes of the Warboss and attempted to slashed at them with his hand, but the Warboss was faster.

"Die, ya git!"

The tri-barreled Autocannon was right in front of Volran and they were firing.

Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Boom!

Volran could not remember how he got out from that attack, but after about seventh shell, his body reacted, and the other two tentacles with Kaiser Blades struck the Autocannon, destroying one of the barrels and causing it to explode. At the shock of his own cannon exploding, the Warboss let the Zerg commander go, but not without attempting to stomp the former human.

Volran rolled out of the way just as the foot came down. Then he realized that he was beaten. Even with his amazing regenerative powers, his internal organs were utterly destroyed. All he had were his arms, his right leg, the two tentacles on his left side of his back and his head. He could no longer move.

"Ya dead now! Haha!"

Then an Ultralisk came.

Roarrrrr!

Volran instantly knew that the Overmind had intervened. Yet, the Ultralisk was already wounded from fighting a Deffdread and several Nobz. It only had one Kaiser Blade left. It smashed into the Warboss, unbalancing him, and attempted to strike with the lone Kaiser Blade. The Warboss grabbed the Kaiser Blade then fired the Autocannon into the Ultralisk's face.

Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam! Crash~!

The Ultralisk fell down, and the Warboss tore out the lone Kaiser Blade.

"I think that dis stuff would make gud choppa for me Boyz. Let's test it out!"

The Warboss brandished the Kaiser Blade at Volran.

"I will be back, Ork! Then I will kill you!"

"Dead is dead, bug-boy!"

Crack!

The Kaiser Blade cut off Volran's head, and being Zerg, Volran did not die easily. The severed head still roared and spat acid, but eventually the lights in the eyes faded.

* * *

><p>I was watching the battle between Volran and Bugklaw with great interest, and I was surprised at the ease that Bugklaw defeated Volran with.<p>

~That's not a good thing. I guess that my commanders should get a new body. Something beyond the prototype. What do you think, Volran?~

Volran's consciousness was already back.

"Hmmm... I got this massive headache..."

~That's just the side effect of you 'dying'. It will get better.~

"What happened?"

~What do you remember?~

"I remember just up to the part that the Ork cut off my head."

~Then you haven't missed anything.~

Volran's consciousness paused for a moment.

"When can I get back out there?"

~When your new body is mature, but not before. Besides, I have a problem there.~

I immediately ordered every Zerg in the battlefield where Bugklaw was to attack Bugklaw. I knew that it would be difficult killing the Ork, but it was worth a try. However, the real objective was not the Warboss.

~Bring me Volran's skull and body!~

The body was easy to recover. Several Raptors took it aside, tore it apart to find the Khaydarine Crystals, swallowed them, and burrowed into the ground. As for the head, it was a problem. The millions of Zerglings were now mere four hundred thousand and that number was falling fast. The Ultralisks were hunted by the Orks for the Kaiser Blades, so only few dozen managed to get away. So I only had about fifty Raptors and a few hundred Zerglings near the Warboss, and the Warboss liked his trophy skull.

* * *

><p>~I guess a little revenge is in order too.~<p>

I ordered my forces attacking the jungles to step up their attacks. At my command, a million Zerglings and thousands of other creatures rose up from the ground. They had been hiding all over the far south and within the jungle itself. Five thousand Mutalisk-variants hundreds of heavier fliers were also sent to eradicate the jungle of Orks.

It was a payback for the Bugklaw's brilliant flanking move. Of course, I was a little upset about the loss of about a million Zerglings by a storm of bombs and artillery shells. Yet, I was no longer as concerned as I used to be. The two years have been good to me and my Swarm. I used to shudder at losing even a dozen Zerglings. Now, I had millions of units at my disposal. There was very little to be concerned by about losing a million Zerglings, though the lost Ultralisks were a little sore point.

~Hargen, divert your forces and take air-unit reinforcements and head to the Prideland. We have a little Ork problem.~

"An Ork problem, Overmind? Couldn't Volran handle it?"

~He died, and he is seething with rage until his new body is ready. The Warboss Bugklaw has just wiped out a million Zerglings in a brilliant tactical move, aided by a little blunder from Volran.~

"A million!"

~Yes... It appears that Bugklaw has many air-units and cleverly used artillery to blast apart my precious Zerglings.~

"I see..."

~I have diverted a million Zerglings from the main hive clusters and there are still about half a million Zerglings left alive in the Prideland. I've set the colonies in the Prideland to maximum unit production. Pick up Roaches and Hydralisks from Elric on your way.~

"Of course."

~Very good. Let the killing game begin.~


	32. Chapter 32

Okay! One more chapter, and finally we have Naval Zerg creatures. Some of the names were thanks to Reviews and PMs that you sent me. However, although there are naval creatures, the wars will be mostly focused on ground, air and space.

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><p>Chapter 32<p>

Up above the clouds, just between the dark stormy clouds and the thin veil of intense Warp Storm that kept daemons out, hundreds of Overlords, Overseers and a dozen Hiveseers sped toward the south east out into the vast ocean that encircled the main continent where the war raged endlessly between so many factions. It was the first time that the Zerg had spread their reaches so far, and this was not the only part of this planet that was being surveyed by the Swarm. Thousands of Overlords and Overseers began to float outward from the main continent, commanded by the Overmind who had recently grown as a mightier being. Even as they moved out to the ocean, the Overmind quickly understood that this world was not as it seemed. The main group of Overlords were sent so that they would find the true homeland of the Orks, and it wasn't long before the Swarm was aware of the hundreds of islands that made up a massive archipelago.

Four main islands were the primary landmass of the Orks, and three of them were slightly bigger than Texas, and one was nearly as big as Texas added on to California. They were huge landmasses, and they were crawling with Orks. Of course, the lesser islands were no laughing matter either. Most of the hundreds of smaller islands of varying sizes were quite habitable, and they were filled to the brim with Orks. Despite the relatively cold conditions of the region, being near the south pole of the planet, the Orks still thrived. While not as great as the hot humid jungle planets, the islands still provided conditions for Ork growth.

~So, they do have millions of Orks. How interesting.~

I mused as I sensed the millions of Orks in the archipelago. Still, I had numerical superiority over the Orks. Being grown in mere months still could not compete against growing to maturity in mere 'hours'. Prideland, the home of Ultralisks and a relatively new Zerg domain, had millions of Zerglings, and Hargen's and Elric's domains would have similar numbers in overall for size, but older establishments, such as the area just outside of the peninsula, and the Primary Hive Cluster in the peninsula itself had much more Zergs hiding under the ground.

~Bugklaw is smart, and he is still ferrying the Orks across the sea.~

Indeed, Bugklaw's naval fleet continued to ferry more Orks, though it took days to reach the staging ground where a million Orks readied themselves to get to the mainland. In fact, the fighting over the cold temperate jungles was a joke to the Orks as much as it was for the Zergs. Technologically inferior, the Orks of the jungle and the cold desert and the tundra were much less populous than their island-born brothers. Though the total landmass of the Ork's domain on the mainland was actually similar to the total landmass of the archipelago, the Ork population was hardly a match let alone the technological level.

The Orks on the mainland were around a million in total. This was mostly due to the hostile environment where the Ork spores did not grow so fast while deadly animals ate up precious spores and killing Gretchens. However, the archipelago was a different matter. Long isolation from the mainland, relatively mild climate and land conditions, and technological superiority due to the large amount of debris from the destroyed human starship, the Ork numbers in the islands had exploded over the five hundred years. Although the devastating internal fighting had been some issue over the centuries, the rise of the great Warboss Bugklaw changed everything.

Each of the three larger islands had at least a million Orks each, and the biggest island had almost three million Orks by itself. By adding a million or so Orks from the lesser islands, the total Ork population under Bugklaw's empire could have been estimated to over seven million Orks. It was no longer a wonder how Bugklaw managed to bring hundreds of thousands of Orks in a brilliant flanking move. I was still very impressed, but no longer felt as threatened by it all... just annoyed.

~The real problem is the fleet. I suppose it is a good chance to try out my aquatic-Zergs.~

The Ork fleet, now combined with even more ships from the islands, was rather big. There was the Bugklaw's personal flagship, then there were four aircraft-carriers that ferried many Fightas and Fighta-Bommas as well as Deffkoptas. The flotilla also featured at least a hundred large Ork naval battleships that were crude but so horribly fitted with long and powerful cannons and incredible cargo-capacity. On top of that were smaller vessels at least doubling the battleships in number and there were barges that delivered the Orks to the shore. It was truly a mighty fleet of at least three hundred ships, yet they were now spread out. They were in a long chain that constantly delivered hundreds of Orks every day.

~It was a good thing that I developed aquatic-Zergs, otherwise, I would have needed to take the fleet out only with my fliers.~

At my mental command, the Zerg forces began to move. From the mountain range that divided the Prideland from the Broken Baronies, Elric's domain, came thousands of Hydralisks followed by thousands of Mutalisk-variants. It was the mountains that I set up most of my air-unit productions. Even in the peninsula, the harsh snow-covered mountains were the cozy home of my air units. Hundreds of Spires and Greater Spires as well as Living Cages, a huge flytrap-like structure that housed thousands of air-units and fed them the Creep. From the Dividing Mountains, as I called them, nearly a hundred thousand Hydralisks and Mutalisks were sent down to the Prideland to reinforce the scattered bands of Zerglings and Ultralisks that escaped the slaughter-fest.

~We need Roaches down there.~

It was a mere thought, and hundreds of thousands of Roach-variants suddenly popped out from the ground and headed to the nearest Nydus Worm. Then Corruptors, Devourers, Guardians and Brood Lords began to appear in the skies over the peninsula and Doomed Coast, Hargen's domain, and they headed east toward the Prideland. A hundred twenty thousand Overlords were soon filled to the brim with Baneling-variants. With expanded carrying capacity, the Overlords now carried eight Banelings, and that was around nine hundred sixty thousand Banelings being ferried over the mountains in Overlords.

~Ah, and my naval units are ready.~

It was that moment that the rough and jagged shores of the coast at the southern end of the Prideland was suddenly buzzing with Zerg activities. There was a special Zerg colony there not under the control or influence of Volran, the Lord of Prideland and Master of Ultralisks. Twelve Hatcheries, two Lairs and a Hive were there on the very edge of the land. Thick Creep covered the rocky shores and the low seas around the area, and twenty Nydus Worms had poked their head under the water on the sea floor, hidden by the floating Creep. From those Nydus Worms began to pour out strange new Zerg creatures modified to fight in water.

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><p>Hydrolisks, a cousin species of Hydralisks, were the primary Zerg naval force. While the general size was similar to the Hydralisks, the Hydrolisks were longer by at least 50% and they had large fins on their long tails and two pairs of former-legs that acted as steering fins protruded from underneath the primary attack arms. They also had a small organ inside their bodies similar to that of an Overlord or a Corruptor. This gravity-manipulating organ added to the illusions of Hydrolisks being capable of floating without moving. Like the Hydralisks, the Hydrolisks fired deadly spines, though the spines of Hydrolisks were longer, narrower and shaped in a screw form that allowed them to cut through the resistance of the water. Yet, even such measures could not compensate the loss of destructive power of velocity, so the spines exploded through a chemical reaction.<p>

Hydrolisks, however, were mostly cannon fodder or used as amphibious creatures, as they were capable of moving on land also. On the other hand, Cephalisks, a Corruptor-variant, were the primary creatures for the Zerg. With larger head and longer body, a Cephalisk would be at least double the size of a Corruptor. Using the gravity organ and ten powerful tentacles, Cephalisks would swim at an incredible speed for a long time, which makes them highly useful in chasing down the enemies and shooting them down with their powerful Explosive Parasite Spores. These Explosive Parasite Spores were variants of Corruptor's weapon, and they had tiny flaps that allowed them to move faster and never slow down or lose their targets. Once hitting the enemy, the arrow-shaped Plasma Shield allows them to penetrate enemy armor and then they would explode, showering powerful acid that reacts violently to water in any form. In a way, a Cephalisk would be more effective than torpedo-firing submarines, in that a Cephalisk also has the ability to hide itself in a cloud of acidic spray. Though merely 5m in length, these were the mainstay of the Zerg's naval force.

While Hydrolisks were fodder and Cephalisks were primary attacker, Echinolings were mines and self-propelled heavy torpedoes. A variant of Banelings, Echinolings had fish-like tail, four steering fins, a sleek body that can roll itself into a ball. Usually grown in large batches of egg sacs stuck under the belly of a massive Carcharlisk, they would either float in the empty sea like sea mines that would detect enemies and launch themselves against the enemies, or being fired by a telekinetic throw by the Carcharlisk. As for the Carcharlisks, they were modeled after the Great White Sharks of Earth, though only the sleek body shape was the extent of their similarity. Looking more like a super-sized Megalodon, the Carcharlisks were approximately 50 meters in length and had huge girth. With three pairs of large steering fins and capacity to carry large number of Echinolings and firing them at the enemy, Carcharlisks were expected to be a deadly enemy to fight in the sea. They also carried the ability to fire Disruption Beams of Protoss Sentries from the six small tentacles that allowed the Carcharlisks to defend itself from enemies.

The final, but the most powerful of the Zerg's naval force were the Krakenlisks. These were huge octopus-like creatures. The big round head and many legs do make them appear octopus-like, but the fact was that Krakenlisks had twelve tentacles instead of eight. Each of these tentacles were long and flexible like that of an octopus' legs, but they were also protected by carapace and powerful plasma shields. In truth, a Krakenlisk was not a single creature but an amalgam of three Zerg creatures living in a symbiosis. The huge main body, a spherical and armored boy contained various major organs that kept the huge creature alive and functioning. The twelve tentacles growing out from the twelve holes in the main body was another Zerg creature, and it was very much like twelve Spine Crawlers merged into one. This creature, however, had incredible regenerative property, allowing any destroyed tentacles to regrow in matter of minutes. In fact, aside from crushing the enemy with the tentacles or using them like whips, the tentacles could attack like awls that pierces through the enemy armor then would detach from the Krakenlisk, only to have the detached tentacle explode in a firework of acid and reactive chemicals. The third creature lived inside the 'mouth' of the Krakenlisk, and it was mostly a large brain containing five large Khaydarin Crystals and five short tentacles. These five tentacles fired Zerg version of Prismatic Beam like the Patriarch or Matriarchs did, but combined with the Krakenlisk holding the enemy in a death-grip, the five Prismatic Beam could literally destroy even the largest of enemies.

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><p>At my mental command, many thousands of Zerg entered the water through the Nydus Worms under the water, and large cocoons exploded and let the larger creatures out. Ten thousand Hydrolisks escorting a thousand Cephalisks were pouring out from the Nydus Worms while two hundred Carcharlisks and thirty Krakenlisks. In terms of larger creatures, the Swarm was still far behind the Ork fleet, but the Swarm constantly producing more units. Just as the my newly created naval creatures headed toward the convoys of Ork ships to make deadly and devastating raids, millions of Zerg ground units began to converge at the outer edges of the Prideland, where vicious fighting continued between the remaining Zerg forces, still numbering millions, versus the Ork forces under the Warboss Bugklaw.<p>

Bugklaw's lesser Warbosses had quickly established nearly twenty strongholds across a large tract of the Prideland, taking approximately one fifth of the whole region under Ork control. Yet, the Orks made some mistakes. They did not find every Creep Tumors that literally covered the vast land in knee-deep layers of Creep, and there were still thousands of Spine Crawlers and Spore Crawlers that evaded the initial attacks on several of the Zerg colonies. Being faster and far more mobile than previous generations, these Crawlers moved intelligently under my direct command. Using the high-altitude observations of Overseers, I coordinated the movements of each and every Crawler groups, placing surprising ambushes against Ork patrols. Meanwhile, thousands of Raptors and Velociraptors roamed the vast distances between each Ork fortifications and raided supply convoys. Of course, sometimes Roaches would be used to take out vehicles such as Wartrukks, Warbuggies and Warbikes. At first, the lack of heavier ranged units such as Roachs and Hydralisks made the raids ineffective, but as the new units were birthed and reinforcements arriving, raids on the Ork convoys began to starve out the outer Ork strongholds from receiving more 'bits' and weapons as well as more Squigs to feed the Orks.

Orks found that Creep was a very hostile environment for the Ork spores. Only one in a hundred spores managed to grow into any Ork form, and only on thin layers of Creep. On thicker layers of Creep, Orks spores just became food for the Creep as the spores simply sank deeper into the Creep until they were digested. This was an utterly unexpected condition for the Orks. They now had to fight the Zerg to eat. Instead of eating their usual Squigs for food, the Ork forces in the strongholds had to hunt roaming Zerg creatures to eat. At first, the unsuspecting Zerg stragglers were hunted, killed and eaten, but once I learned what was going on, the Orks forces found themselves starving and resorting to eating Gretchins or any dead Ork that happened to be appearing all over the strongholds. Only the coastal strongholds maintained certain semblance of subsistence, as the coastal areas were cleared of Creep and the fleet continued to supply the coastal areas.

For two full months, there were constant skirmishes across the two fronts of war. The southern front had been a great success for my Swarm. The jungle had been taken in its entirety and Queens were busy laying down more and more Creep Tumors while Drones began their harvest of trees. My forces had ventured into the cold desert, but without Creep, almost every one of my ground forces except for Zerglings and variants, became very slow in their movements. The sands there were tricky, and quite metallic as well. I thought that once I carpeted the region with Creep, my Drones could perhaps mine the sand for every bits of metal in them. Though stymied by the strange properties of the sand and thousands of deadly scorpion-like native species, my Swarm continued to drive the Orks further south.

On the eastern front, the war was turning. Though my forces were initially being pushed back by the terrible defeat at the beginning of the war, sheer numbers and endless hit-and-run tactics had paid off. Despite expanding their area of control to nearly forty strongholds across half the Prideland, Bugklaw had made a critical mistake of underestimating the Zerg. Half of this strongholds were now isolated amid seas of Zerg units that tore apart any Ork that dared to step out from behind their walls. To make the matters worse for the Orks, the Ork fleet was in deep trouble. My naval raids had been a tremendous success. Using good combination of my units, I had taken down sixteen separate convoys, including a task force that attempted to hunt down my units. In total, the Ork fleet's number had been reduced by half and they had lost one of the carriers along with many Fightas and Fighta-Bommas aboard. Then the Overlords carrying Banelings had crossed the sea and arrived at the staging ground of the Ork invaders. A small island had been chosen due to its relatively close distance from the Prideland, and nearly a million Orks had filled the island. By the time they found the Overlords and began firing their crude anti-air weaponry, Banelings were already dropping like rain.

Nine hundred thousand Banelings dropping all over their small island had been devastating for the Orks. Of the million-strong Ork reserve forces, barely twenty thousand survived. To make the matters worse, the acid baths had dissolved the Orks and the spores all together along most of the Ork structures on the island. Surviving Orks were suddenly hunted by thousands of Banelings that didn't get the chance to explode themselves in enemies' faces. This meant that Bugklaw's army was no longer being reinforced. It was another four days before first Ork stronghold fell to the attack of Hargen and his vast air force. Just as tens of thousands of Zerg ground units surrounded the outer-most Ork stronghold, Hargen swooped down upon his flying mount and ordered the numerous Mutalisk-variants to assail the Orks. Guardians sent down volleys of acid bolts while Broodlings rained down from Brood Lords. Mutalisks and Gattlisks swooped into the enemy fortifications and fired their Glaive Wurms while evading the few flak fires that randomly exploded in the sky around them.

Although Bugklaw attempted to rally the Orks back into fighting shape, Orks were not ready to fight against the renewed Zerg attacks. Hungry and demoralized, and constantly hunted by the Zergs that simply could not be found a moment after the ambush, the Ork army began to crumble like soft cookie. Within a week, ten more stronghold fell, and then another eleven in the following week. It was not long before I had Bugklaw trapped in his main stronghold, a massive complex that was literally littered with weapons. I had no idea why he did nothing but build up this massive fortification, but then I soon found out. The endless streams of large caliber bullets from Ork guns along with so many flak that the sky above the stronghold was literally made black had shown me how dangerous this clever Ork could be. Thousand of my fliers simply died as their bodies were shredded and torn to pieces by flak while cannon shells and bullets raked through my ground forces. Of course, the visual was very much like Tyranid vs Orks as written on the Tyranid Codex about the War for the Ork Empire of Octarius. My Zergs, millions in number and unrelenting, and Bugklaw's forces well fortified behind ten thousand guns and cannons, and they were hacking and shooting at each other.

For two days and nights, the battle continued with its intensity not lost for a single moment. Then finally, the stalemate broke on the 49th hour of the battle. The 2nd walls of the Ork fortification fell to an incredibly wild stampede of Ultralisks and the Orks' morale finally broke when the Warboss Bugklaw was struck several time by Guardians' acids and Banelings dropping from Overlords. Unable to stand against so many enemies at once, the great Ork sent this Mega Armored Nobs against the enemy, cutting a large swath into my forces, but that was what I was waiting for. Just as the Mega Armored Nobz smashed aside Zerglings and crushed Roaches, four Hunters exploded out from the ground around the Warboss. Suddenly surrounded by four special Zerg creatures that were designed to hunt powerful enemy leaders like him, the Warboss was unable to stand against my creatures. Two Hunters died at his hand, but the Ork was forced to flee before the oncoming Zerg assault, renewed at the right moment. Also, hundreds of Hydralisks and Roaches were coming out from the ground as well.

Without their Warboss to lead them into a glorious frenzy of the battle, the Ork forces began to lose focus. Lesser Warbosses attempted to hold the line, but they were quickly torn apart by kill-teams of Hydralisks hiding under the ground and popping out or Mutalisks swooping down and focusing their attack upon the lesser Warboss. One by one, larger guns were silenced by the concerted efforts of Brood Lords and Guardians, while lesser guns were eventually overwhelmed by the sheer number of Zerglings. Within matter of a couple of hours, most of the Ork army was dead, their corpses surrounded by so many Zerg creatures. The last remaining pockets of Orks gathered to the tall keep located over a coastal cliff. This tower had been a headache for me since it had a single barrel of Lance cannon from the broken pieces of the Imperial starship. It was patched up by the Ork Mekboys, but it was functioning, and it kept killing Guardians and Brood Lords. However, I had seen through the weakness of this keep. It had six power generators feeding that single barrel of Lance cannon. Thousands of Zerg creatures died as I assailed each power generator at a time. Then the Lance was silenced. Then I prepared to take out the Ork that plagued me with annoyance over the years.

Of course, I was wary of the Ork, and this time I had 'almost' caught him. A single massive contraption exited the keep and flew south east, escorted by a dozen Fightas and as many Deffkoptas. Of course, I directed every ground unit to assail the keep while mobilizing my Scourges and Scourers along with many thousands of Devourers and Corruptors. They gave chase to the Ork's massive flier. Like any other Ork invention, the airplane had so many guns. Hundreds of Mutalisks fell from the flak while Corruptors and Devourers died as Lascannons pierced the thick carapace and created holes in the bodies. Yet, no flying thing made by Orks could handle hundreds of Scourges crashing into the hull. Even Mutalisks, Devourers and Corruptors were baits to distract the Ork from destroying the cloud of Scourges. What I did not expect was that Bugklaw was never in the airplane, and he did not travel south east. He had taken an Ork submarine and disappeared into the sea, taking care not to be noticed by my naval units. It was another few years later that I saw Bugklaw once more, and at that time, it was the war to end Ork existence on this world.

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><p>While the Swarm was dealing with the Ork problem, the War in the North had taken a new turn. A new commander appeared among the humans of the Kingdom, and began to drive back the forces of Chaos.<p>

The Countess was a newly chosen commander of the armies. Although the sexual stereotypes of a noble woman wasn't as terrible as that of real Earth's Medieval times, it was rare for a noble lady to take up arms. However, a daughter of a baron had taken up arms against the invading Chaos forces. Her parents and two older brothers perished in a surprising Chaos attack, and only the youngest daughter managed to stay alive and rallied the remaining soldiers of the barony to drive out the Chaos forces. The commanders of the army was quite impressed with her and allowed her to join the army. What no one had suspected was that the Countess Alena of Ereberan was in fact a fabricated identity confirmed only by the commanders and knights and lords whose brains have been taken over by the Spylings. A Zerg task-force had slaughtered every human in the County of Ereberan, and laid down bodies of Chaos Cultists to make it appear as if the Chaos had assailed the land. All that was alive in the County were Alena in her new disguise and thirty or so soldiers whose brains have been taken over. Then it was a matter of time before the four score Spylings that embedded themselves into good positions within the army's hierarchy had influenced their way into making Alena into a powerful figure among the soldiers. She quickly became like the Joan of Arc, as she led the armies of the Kingdom against the Chaos forces.

Thanks to the unseen aids of her Zerg task-forces, Alena managed to achieve an impressive four major victories, where she and her army utterly destroyed Chaos Warbands and recovered valuable territories, and nine minor victories, such as defending a critical passages or taking a key strategic position. Her name quickly began to grow in fame and influence. Many scores of knights flocked to her, bringing with them their own small forces. By the time that the Overmind had driven the Warboss Bugklaw from the Prideland, Alena was in charge of a mighty army. Along with her first title as the Countess of Ereberan, she gained titles of Marshall of the North, General of the Tenth Army, Colonel of Imperial Guards, Knight of the Order of Saintly Rose, and three more Counties. With her title, she managed to gather to her six hundreds well-armed knights, a thousand horsemen of various conditions, three hundred Guardsmen on loan from the King, nine hundred crossbowmen and fifteen hundred archers, as well as two thousand pikemen and three thousand men-at-arms. This impressive army of over nine thousand men was the Tenth Army. The real Tenth Army had been destroyed and re-established three times during the war so far, and Alena's Tenth Army was the fourth incarnation, and it had been more successful than all of its previous incarnations put together, despite the first Tenth Army being almost thirty thousand strong.

In any case, the Zerg now controlled much of the human army. The Swarm was not willing to allow the Chaos forces to gain a firm foothold on this world, and they wanted to weaken the humans at the same time. Thanks to the works of Spylings, the Swarm now controlled six of the fifteen armies of the Kingdom. The 2nd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 10th and the 11th Armies were commanded by a Spyling in disguise, and other Armies also had high-ranking officers taken over by the Spylings. It was almost amazing to think that mere 80 Spylings located in the right positions could take over an army of four hundred thousand. Moreover, the Spyling commanders were far more successful in combating the Chaos forces, although the secret to their success was in the aid of tens of thousand Zerg units deployed in the battle zones. Now, with the Ork problem solved, the Swarm could finally enact the plan to take over the human realm by infiltrating the aristocracy of the Kingdom. The one who could do this was none other than Alena.

The King was older now, and he was no longer as healthy as he used to be, mostly thanks to Zerg poison carefully inserted into the King's system. He looked much older than he actually was, but the worse problem was that his children were ambitious. Four sons, three daughters and their husbands were waiting for the King to die or get assassinated. It was into this fray that Alena entered. Seeing her success, the King had summoned her and her army to the Capital, so that he may grant her the title with all the legality. So far, Alena's titles have been field promotions as her superiors were mysteriously killed in action. The problem was that when Alena entered the King's Court, she stirred up some trouble. Her Zerg pheromones reacted with the Zerg enzymes in the King's body, and in the bodies of other major nobles, including two of the King's sons, particularly the Crown Prince.

The King, though he was much older than Alena by far, was suddenly smitten with her. Indeed, her looks was deceivingly beautiful. She was tall, her skin was fair and she was healthily thin, her body supple yet with muscles. In the eyes of the dozen or so men infected with Zerg enzymes, Alena was the goddess of beauty, and they lusted after her. It was the King who first attempted to bring Alena into his bedroom. Just as he got her into his chamber, the jealous Lord Chamberlain had 'mistakenly' interrupted the King. In that moment, the trust between the King and the Lord Chamberlain cracked. Such moves of seduction quickly spread, and soon the King's Court was fractured into five factions that deeply resented others. With the Capital in disarray, the armies wavered, and more Spylings slipped through the cracks and more Zerg colonies were constructed in secret within the Kingdom.

The King's attention was no longer on the War in the North or the Zerg invasion of the South.

His, and many powerful men's attention, were on Alena.

They were fools truly, as they fell to their baser urges just as their Kingdom crumbled around them.


	33. Chapter 33

**First off, thanks for waiting!**

**I have been busy teaching kids! I love it though! So, don't really have much time to write.**

**Secondly, there are mentions of Zerg Titan in this chapter! Yay! I love titans...**

**Finally... Bugklaw will die on this world, Judanus escapes... but should the Loyalist Space Marines survive or die? or only some of them survive? Should there be a massive daemonfall and Swarm duking it out with daemons?**

**We are so close to the end of Zerg being trapped on this lousy planet. Second part will be about Zerg spreading across the galaxy like a plague, and an Inquisitor of Ordo Xenos and his retinue trying to find out WTF is going on with all the planets suddenly going silent.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 33<strong>

Smile did not leave Lord Chamberlain's as he led Countess Alena down the elaborately designed corridor toward the Royal Household. He was happy just to be near her. He was nearly fifty years old and had a grandson as well, but every time he laid his eyes upon her a fire of infatuation burned hotly within his chest. She was a pretty thing, as well as exuding strength of will forged from the slaughter of her family and war against the Chaos. Her red hair, cut short to accommodate the steel helm that usually protected her while in the battlefield, was still beautiful and perhaps added to her beauty because of the strong will that she has displayed over and over. Such traits were praised in noble woman because the women of aristocracy were expected to defend their household while their men were away. In so many ways, Alena was the perfect noble woman in every sense. Lord Chamberlain's mind told him that it was for this reason that he had fallen in love with her, and because he was in love with her, he hated what he was doing.

Lord Chamberlain knocked a massive door with the hilt of his sword.

"My King. Countess Ereberan is here to see you, as you have commanded."

There was a little cough in his voice as his emotions got the better of him for a tiniest moment. He looked at Alena.

"My lady..."

Alena gave him a wistful smile that simply broke his heart.

"Thank you for helping me before..."

Her voice, normally strong and loud, was a whisper. Lord Chamberlain almost teared up as he fought himself.

"I did not wish you to be violated... by anyone... even by the King..."

For a moment, his mouth betrayed him and told her his feelings without him recognizing it.

"It's alright. He is the King, and we cannot dare stand against his authority, no matter how unjust his commands are."

The Lord Chamberlain could not understand that every word spoken by Alena was intentional, and he was playing within the palms of her hands.

The door to the King's own chamber opened, and inside were a dozen Knights, fully armed with steel armor and bits of Imperial Guards' Stormtrooper uniforms and armor as well as the Lasguns and Power Swords. Also, the King was waiting inside, eager to get his hands on Alena. Alena bowed to the King, who still looked good for his old age. The King was wearing an elaborately decorated pajama that was designed so that it could be shed easily. Alena could so easily guess what that pajama was usually used for.

"Come on in, my dear Countess."

Alena entered the King's chamber with a full smile and sexy gait. The King was instantly aroused at her behavior, yet the Lord Chamberlain saw her holding back her tears with incredible will. None of them realized that they were seeing what Alena wanted them to see.

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><p>Within the week there were rumors of Countess Ereberan becoming the Duchess of the North, albeit a pretender to the title as long the Chaos ruled the North. Then there were rumors of how the King plans to uplift the young Countess as the new Queen. The Crown Prince fumed, of course. The next day, the wife of the Crown Prince was a victim of accidental defenestration. Nobody assumed responsibility but the Crown Prince let the rumor out that the King, wishing to claim the Countess, had murdered his daughter-in-law, who was against the old King marrying the Countess. The King refuted such claims, but he hurried in his preparation for his marriage proposal to the Countess. With the secret aid from the Lord Chamberlain, the Crown Prince took the first strike. He arranged an important council of nobility just as the King prepared to pop the question. The Crown Prince argued that the King cannot marry the Countess, due to both legal and moral codes of the Kingdom. The King was furious, and attempted to disown the Crown Prince, and the Crown Prince countered it by arguing that the King was losing his mind.<p>

Two more weeks passed, and both the King and the Crown Prince had gathered their own supporters to the Capital, not thinking about the consequences. It was the King who dealt the first blow. He proposed to Alena, and made her his fiance. The Crown Prince reacted violently. He had people set fire to one of the lesser palaces, where his younger brother lived. The prince was next in line for the throne after the Crown Prince himself, and thanks to the stacks of firewood and barrels of oil and strong liquor delivered to the palace mere hours before, the younger prince was burned to death, charred beyond recognition. The attacker was so obviously, but no one was in their right minds anymore. The King retaliated by sending five hundred Guardsmen to Count Redol, one of the financial backers of the Crown Prince. Redol was a rich noble with three major trading companies and huge plantations that provided grain to the Crown Prince's war camp. With the mansion surrounded by the King's Knights, the five hundred Guardsmen entered the Count's mansion, slaughtering everything in their path. Every male were shot to death, and every female were raped to death. The Count himself was shredded into scores of small pieces, and each piece was delivered to nobles supporting the Crown Prince.

The counter-strike was also immediate. The Crown Prince assailed the Motherhouse of the Inquisition, torching the magnificent keep and killing majority of the Inquisitors there, and stole various secret documents on how the King used the Inquisition to keep taps on nobles and even ordered assassination or defamation of nobles who dared to oppose the King. Release of such information was a dire wound for the King, and the King struck back by killing his oldest daughter and her husband, who were supporting the Crown Prince in return for a duchy. The King had fallen into dark side, as did the Crown Prince, and the Lord Chamberlain continued to drive a wedge between them, hoping to 'rescue' Alena from the two men. After the death of the High Princess, the King's first daughter and an influential figure among the nobles, the killings became frequent. Within a month, half the royal family had died, and the whole of the Capital was ready for a civil war within its walls. Then the King died, as he watched most of the Crown Princes' supporters among the royal family members being buried alive in the Palace's garden by the Guardsmen. The three arrows stuck through his skull was a definite cause of death. The Crown Prince, who had heard the news that the King had gathered Crown Prince's supporters into the garden, had rallied an army to rescue them, only to hear the news. The Crown Prince smiled, despite having his family greatly diminished. He was quickly crowned the new King, and he started the job of the new King by signing death warrants of every supporter of his father, the old King. Rest of the royal family died, this time by the new King, and they died in the same manner as the old King had killed others. The Royal Garden was suddenly so fertile, with so many royal family buried alive under the soil.

The next thing the new King did as the King was to dismantle the power of the Inquisition, who had sided with his father during the conflict. Then he proceeded to publicly execute every nobleman who supported the old King. This created a great commotion, but the new King did not care. After his enemies were set aside, the new King married Alena in a great public wedding and made the Queen-Regent, whose powers would be absolute save for the power of the King himself. With every other royal family member of direct descent dead, the King was alone, and until the birth of his new issues, Alena would be the second in line. As for the issues of the new King from the previous marriage, they had died many weeks ago in several different but equally terrible accidents. It was within weeks of the coronation and the wedding that another major event occurred the Lord Chamberlain had stabbed the new King in the heart with poisoned dagger. The royal guards quickly killed the assassin, but the damage was done. The new King had died so soon after his ascension into the throne. The turmoil was great, yet much less than what it should have been. For some strange reason, every 'surviving' major noble lords supported the claim of the Queen-Regent, Alena. They unanimously agreed that the new Queen-Regent should be the Queen and the ruler of the Kingdom, despite the fact that the royal family that had lasted five hundred years had finally ended. The line was broken, never to be whole again, even if some distant royal bastard would put forward his claims.

The new Queen was a force to be reckoned with. She somehow commanded the absolute loyalty of every major noble residing in the Capital. She quickly restored peace in the streets, and called commanders of the King's Army to her, so that she may accept their fealty. Many lesser nobles whispered that the Army would not support her, but they were wrong. Once again, she had commanded loyalty of every high generals in the 'Queen's Army', and she expertly dispatched the armies back to the North. She also recalled nearly eighty thousand men holding the Zerg at bay in the South. The old King had placed an army of a hundred thousand men to fight against the 'xeno creatures' but now the Queen had decided that the threat of the Chaos was far more serious. Also, she activated martial law in the entire realm, ordered the local lords to bring in the population of the smaller villages into walled towns and lord's fortresses. In return for the protection for the families, one able-bodied man from each family were conscripted, and sent to the North to fight the Chaos. Had it not been for the Zerg forces ready to invade, this would have been a fantastic idea. Yet, no one even suspected that Alena, their new Queen, was not only a support of the Zerg Swarm, but an actual Zerg herself.

* * *

><p>Watching through the eyes and senses of the single Hiveseer floating above the cloud cover, I could see that the effect of eighty thousand well-trained men reinforcing the northern front was almost instantaneous. The front had already been reinforced with a constant streams of men, eventually peaking at around three hundred thousand men. There were so much military forces gathered there that not even the Chaos forces with their stubbers, bolters and corrupted cannons could deliver victory to the Ruinous Powers. Of course, tens of thousand men died almost every day in a constant struggle for a single hill or a lonely keep or a patch of forest. Though the hill had been dug and blasted apart only to be covered in an ugly display of bloody mud, and though the lonely keep was nothing but crumbled ruins with the stoneworks already desiccating under the strain of battles, and though the patch of forest was already dead and became a mere shadow of its former glory, each of these minor locations were fought for by thousands of men and cultists. Judanus, the Chaos Lord, stepped up his summoning of minor Chaos Warbands, but for some reason, he did not summon any of the greater Warbands that could turn the tide of this war. I was grateful for his hesitation, though I did not know the reason but only to suspect that Judanus did not have the strength to command any of the greater Warbands of Chaos. Indeed, a single Warband from a proper Chaos Legion such as the Black Legion, or the World Eaters, could potentially oust Judanus from his damned throne in the North as the Chaos Lord. I was sure that Judanus was planning something but at the moment, he was being secretive about it.<p>

In any case, the war between the Kingdom, now under my Alena's control, and the Chaos forces of Judanus took a new, more violent, turn. The loyalist Space Marines launched a major offensive against the Chaos forces, leading armies of the north West. Six Space Marines supported by three thousand heavy cavalries, four thousand Guardsmen, six thousand crossbowmen, fifteen thousands of sword and spears, began to wreak terrible havoc along the flanks of the Chaos forces. Though their army was but a pittance compared the numerically superior forces of the Queen's Army or the multitudes of Chaos cultists under Judanus, the Space Marines fought a bloody and terrifying war that kept the Chaos forces off balance. From what I have seen alone, the Space Marines took apart seventeen Chaos Warbands, killing their Chaos Marine champions and slaughtering the cultists. By themselves, the Space Marines and their human supporters would have done little damage to the Chaos forces, but with the Chaos forces being equally matched by the humans, and constantly challenged by the remnants of the Northern Orks, each attack by the loyalists were equally crippling blow to the forces of Judanus. In fact, their attacks were so devastating that Judanus was forced to finally step out from his tower to deal with them. This was possibly because the loyalists somehow found and dragged out a single Razorback. On a world without armored vehicles, even a single Razorback was a devastating force to be reckoned with. Within weeks of the Razorback appearing, Judanus was forced to step out from his tower to deal with the loyalists.

With the Kingdom now firmly under Alena's hands and her 'human' armies pushing forth against the armies of the Chaos Lord, and the Chaos Lord fighting a deadly seek-and-hide with the Loyalist Space Marines, I was free to pursue whatever endeavor I wished to undertake. The first priority was still the conquest of the Southern Orks and driving them out of the main continent. Already, the cold metallic-sand desert was in the capable hands of the Swarm, while the last remaining pockets of Orks were being driven to the edges of the tundra, where the summer had melted the ice bridge between the main continent and the edge islands of the archipelago. There were at least five hundred thousand Orks of various types and sizes that were trapped in an expanse of snow-covered tundra and millions of Zergs were already heading toward them.

Of course, the ridding of Orks from the South was a simple matter of time, no more difficult or problematic than swatting a fly. So, my focus shifted to the spreading of the Zerg-kind to the rest of the planet. There were other, lesser continents, albeit the main continent was a supercontinent and most of the landmasses were bound to the continent. In those lesser lands, the survivors of the original colonists had constructed their little feudal realms. Unfortunately, the realms of the descendants of the original colonists were useless to me. None of their population had the psychic potential like those of the Kingdom did. Without such potential, not even the mighty Warp Storm could amplify the psychic powers. Since I had extra tens of millions of Zerglings to spare now, I just sent a lot of Zerglings to infest and destroy the lesser kingdoms.

The reason that I had tens millions of Zerglings was because of the invasion of the Prideland by the Warboss Bugklaw, and the subsequent slaughtering of my Zerglings. Indeed, he had slaughtered millions of my Zerglings and many hundreds of my Ultralisks. What he didn't know was that the Swarm's previous encounter with Orks had allowed the Swarm to adapt and evolve. We had learned so much from the Ork physiology, and I was impressed with the Old Ones and how they made these biological weapons. These Old Ones were almost as good as the Xel'naga when it came to making new species. The resilience of Orks and their intuition about tactics and technology was impressive. Moreover, the Ork's method of reproduction was fantastical as well, since the spores not only grew almost everywhere, they were affected by the Waaagh! In order to use such things to my advantage, I had already delved deep into the Ork physiology after the very first encounter.

The first implementation of Ork characteristics was the increase in muscle profiles in the Zerg creatures. Thanks to the flexible, dense yet strong muscles structures of Ork life forms, every Zerg creature became stronger, faster and tougher. The second was the secondary central nerve cluster. This had meant that even the destruction of the brain would not kill a Zerg. Of course, beheading damaged the spines and other major organs of the nervous system so it would kill a Zerg, but with the upgrade, Zerg creatures could theoretically survive a beheading. Combined with the fact that a Zerg can recover from even the direst of wounds as long as it is alive, a beheaded Zergling riddled with bullets and shrapnel can theoretically survive and recover from its wounds and even grow a new head. Such was the resilience taken from the Orks. These characteristics were easier to implement so they were quickly used.

On the other hand, the last Ork characteristic that I wanted was far more difficult to reproduce. The last characteristic that I implemented was the method of reproduction. The Zerg units were still hatched from Larvae but certain species like the Zerglings, Banelings and Hydralisks carried around a number of spores in their bodies, which were expelled from the body if the original creature dies. Such experimentation had been done before by Kerrigan' Swarm in the form of Splitterlings. However, I had determined that smaller Banelings were useless in Warhammer 40K. It was thanks to the Ork DNA and its characteristics that I was able to find a good recipe. From the moment that they were birthed, Zerglings, Banelings, Drones and Hydralisks would begin building up tiny spores like gallstones. A Zergling usually has the capacity to carry around fifty spores while Banelings carry twenty and Hydralisks carry five, depending on the age and number of souls absorbed.

The spores, expelled through an automated muscle response to the host's life, could be shot quite far from the host, up to nearly a ten meters in a wide circular formation. As each spore is spherical formation with the diameter at 5mm, they are hardly noticeable, but they are also big enough to be a seed to a full creature, unlike Ork spores that may not grow a fully formed Ork boy from the start depending on the presence of Ork ecosystem. Once the spores land, either on some sort of soil, or on Creep for the best effect, the spores grows tiny six double-jointed legs and a dozen thin tentacles. The spores use the legs to dig into the ground. Spores would dig quite deep and quite fast despite the extremely thin appendages. A Zergling spore would spend thirty minutes to dig about 40cm, while a Hydralisk spore would spend an hour to reach 1m. Once they are underground, the spores reabsorb the legs and use the tentacles like roots to exploit the nutrients of the soil to grow itself.

A Zergling spore buried in a thick layer of Creep, which is the best possible condition, would produce a fully formed and functioning Zergling in the same time period as a Larva would. Since the Zerglings take about 12 hours to grow in uncontrolled production, it is theoretically possible that death of a single Zergling could produce fifty new Zerglings in another 12 hours. Of course, such was not the case in the ruins of the Prideland. Deaths of millions of Zerg creatures, including over a million Zerglings, had spread so many spores around the Prideland, but this meant that spores had to fight for the nutrients in the soils. Only about half the spores hatched into cocoons containing fully formed Zerg creatures. That was still well over twenty million Zergling cocoons buried under the layers of soil. I had deliberately halted the hatching of these Zerglings as I did not wish to show my hands to the Orks while they still controlled the Prideland's southern half. Now that Bugklaw has been kicked out from the Prideland, the vast grasslands were swarming with Zerglings far more numerous than the casualties. With my latest modification, however, Zerglings and other spore-spewing creatures would now periodically empty out their spore pouches, allowing even more creatures to spawn.

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><p>Months passed, and I was not overly concerned with the war in the North. Alena was taking care of it very well, thanks to the support of over a hundred Spylings now burrowed into the skulls of every major nobles and military commanders. Also, tens of thousands of Zerg creatures were hiding around the desolate battlefields of the North and kept the war in the balance. What I was still concerned about were the Orks and their leader, the Warboss Bugklaw. In order to maintain vigil over the Orks, I had sent hundreds of Overlords and Overseers to the islands, and the Orks attempted to take them down with their crude cannons and any remaining Fightas or Deffkoptas. The problem was that while Orks were good at salvaging things, they weren't that fantastic at mining and actually creating stuff. Of course, they still mined, smelted and forged things, but it was a crude process that churned out objects that only Orks could use. If Orks were like humans then every group of feral Orks would carry bolters rather than wooden sticks with stone tips. The loss of most of their vehicles and naval vessels had gravely weakened Orks' combat strength, and I suspected that I had more time to deal with the Orks. However, it was almost a year later since the invasion of the Prideland, that I found something alarming.<p>

Deep in the jungles of one of the main islands, there was an unnatural concentration of flak, and it had been growing over the course of the year, and my Overlords could not move close enough to pierce the crude shielding of the Ork Mekboys. Then, one of the Overseers managed to find its way through a hail of flak, and just before it died it sent a single image. I was horrified. A giant something was being built by scores of Mekboys, hundreds of Orks and thousands of Gretchens.

~Is that... a Gargant?~

Yet, it wasn't that big. It was quite small for a Titan, even if it was an Ork Titan.

~It must be a Stompa!~

Stompa or Gargant, it was still a formidable threat. Moreover, it was nearly complete. Within months, the Stompa would be operational, and that was not a good news at all.

~Shit! My titans aren't ready yet!~

* * *

><p>As the human Kingdom under Alena's control began to pull away the majority of military forces defending against the Zerg's encroachment, my Swarm continued to grow in size and might. Already, most of the lesser human realms, whose lack of psyker potential caused unrelenting slaughter of its people by the Swarm, had fallen. Islands and lesser continents were now being converted into the Swarm's domain, covered with thick layers of Creep. Though it would be a couple of years before those islands were utterly controlled by the Zerg, it was just a matter of time before the Swarm took over. On the other hand, the discovery of the Ork Gargant, actually more like a Stompa in size, had pushed my plan into an overdrive. The Ork islands were still occupied by millions more Orks, and they were still growing in number as the war around the planet continued to excite their little minds. While the Stompa was still some time away from completion, I already held the counter moves. Deep in the Creep-covered heights of the peninsula, scores of massive cocoons were drawing deep breaths. These were special cocoons holding the fulcrum of my experiments into creating Titan-level creatures that could counter the enemy Titans, Gargants and Bio-Titans. Many of these cocoons were of lesser variety, aimed against Warhound-level Titans. Some were designed against Reaver-class Titans or bigger, therefore being a little larger.<p>

These smallest bio-Titans of the Swarm were of much more efficient design than the Hierophants of the Tyranids. Unlike the lumbering beast of Tyranids, whose form bears very little efficacy in combat, the Zerg's bio-Titans were of more humanoid in form, relatively speaking. I had decided to name these monstrous creatures as Gigantes, the name given to the Giants of Greek Mythology, the children of Gaia and the blood of Uranus. In fact, the design of these creatures were more like a mix between a Centaur, a creature with human torso and equine lower body, and a giant spider. While its torso was rather like a giant Hydralisk, its lower half was like a massive tarantula but with only three pairs of legs, and the head was a mix between a Queen and a Hydralisk. The composition of its body is also impressive as well. It has powerful honey-comb styled endoskeletal structure, then it is covered with powerful muscles protected by hard exoskeleton, which in turn is also protected by layers of carapace and chitin. However, had the protections ended there, this creature would easily fall by lascannons and such. Covering the carapace and such is a layer of specially-designed version of Creep. Using the Creep's natural invulnerability against almost all types of attacks, I designed a type of Creep to protect my bio-Titans. Although lost if the Creep tumors hidden in the muscle-layer were destroyed, Creep's soft, cushioning nature also protects it from non-energy weapons such as cannons shells or missiles. On top of the Creep layer is the final layer of carapace which can only be touched after the massive amount of Hardened Shield protecting the creature.

Walking on three pairs of gigantic armored legs with sharp hooks, the creature also had three pairs of arms. The primary pair of arms held deadly claws crackling with psionic energy, while the other four arms would carry deadly ranged weapons. For now, the upper secondary arms would be armed with either Spore Blasters or Phase Disruptor Maxima, a massive Zerg-version of Protoss Immortal's powerful Phase Disruptors. Spore Blasters were triple-barreled symbiotic creature/cannon to be mounted on the secondary arms. Designed to look like sea anemones, the exterior of these barrels are covered with scores of modified Spore Crawlers. The three barrels would fire super-large spores with homing-capability and incredible range, while the 90 or so Spore Crawlers would protect the bio-Titan from lesser air attacks. As for the Phase Disruptor Maxima, it would be one of the few occasions when the Protoss technology would be so obviously used by my Swarm. It would fire massive disruptive pulses that would pulverize and shred enemy armor, and given the size and twin-linked nature of the weapons, they would be excellent anti-Titan weapons. The lower secondary arms would carry anti-infantry weapons, such as an Acid Hurricane, a massive acid-spraying symbiotic creature, or a Flailing Tentacles, a large whip-like creature with 150 extra-long Spine Crawlers growing out its bulbous body.

These Gigantes, however, were but tips of the iceberg. While the Gigantes handled Warhound Titans or Titans of their levels, there were bio-Titans that were designed to fight even bigger enemies. They were the Erebus and Aether. If Gigantes were purely Zerg creatures, Erebus and Aether were hybrids. Erebus resembled the Hybrid Reaver, if the Hybrid Reaver had six arms. Designed to take hits and do powerful melee damage against enemies, the Erebus can absorbed light around itself using the Khaydarin Crystals' reaction to the power of the Void used by the Dark Templars. Although it's size means that it cannot be cloaked, this ability makes the creature impervious to most laser-based weapons. If an enemy wishes to attack an Erebus, they cannot use such weapons as laguns or lascannons, though Titan-based weapons would still be somewhat effective. Of course, it was not that an Erebus was without ranged armament. Though four of its six arms were fitted with powerful claws surrounded and pulsating with the deadly power of the Protoss Warp Blades, its two upper arms were capable of carrying different ranged weapons, though its huge size and the size of its opponents had meant that the Erebus would normally be equipped with Psionic Distruptor Cannons, which uses psionic energy to disassemble something in its component molecules.

While Erebus was a melee attacker, an Aether was ultimately a psionic creature. Though slightly smaller than an Erebus, the Aether hovered about 3~5 meters from the ground, and the psionic field that held it up in the air could crush everything beneath it into flattened pieces. This ability also allowed an Aether to be deployed on water or on extremely hostile terrain. The Aether, like the Erebus, had two legs but the Aether had four arms instead of six, and none of the arms had attack claws attached on them. Though its three fingers and the thumb were clawed, they carried a role far more destructive than claws. Each of Aether's hands fired deadly Void Blasts, same attack as the Hybrid Destroyers, but with enough psionic energy behind each attack to turn a tank into a small burning spot on the ground. Yet, these basic attacks were but a tip of its incredible powers. Using the overflowing psionic reserves, the Aether could spray out its deadly abilities. The Psionic Storm was the primary attacking ability, though the scale was much larger. In an Aether, the Psionic Storm was designed not as a ranged attack power but a sort of bulldozer to wipe out smaller enemies from around the Aether. Sending out five incredible pulses of Psionic Storm in a sphere of 300 meter radius around itself, the Aether could clear out any enemies surrounding it, save the heaviest of enemies such as enemy Titans or superheavy tanks. The second, but more useful ability was the Psionic Shockwave. It sends a highly destructive disruption wave in a broad line reaching nearly 750 meters in maximum range and width of nearly 50 meters. The final, but more anti-Titan or anti-armor ability was the Psionic Annihilator. It was a single charged pulse, an idea taken from the Terran Yamato Cannon, and it worked by being out of phase until it reached the target. This means that the attack can pierce any shield, even the Void Shields utilized by Imperial Titans. Once re-phasing, the ball of psionic energy would break down the bonds between molecules in a large sphere, tearing a massive hole in the middle of an enemy that exploded.

Thus, I was prepared, but according to my calculation, my first Gigantes would be born at least a month later than the Orks would finish their Stompa. By that time, the winter would have set in, and the Stompa would move across the ice-bridge between the islands and the Tundra.

~Well... I say... Bring it ON!~


	34. Chapter 34

New Chapter Yay! 

What's new?

Inquisitor Pardia makes an appearance!

Have a good time!

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><p><strong>Chapter 34<strong>

Under the strong leadership of Queen Alena, the human realm prepared for its big push against the forces of Chaos. In reality, her 'strong rule' was all thanks to the majority of the high ranking nobles infected by Spylings. With the support of nearly a hundred major nobles under her sleeve, Alena commanded the ultimate political power in the Kingdom and her word was law. She quickly stamped down any who dared to oppose her. Since the military was already under her influence through the good positioning of infected commanders and generals, she had no problem removing troublesome nobles or minor rebellions. Using the vast amount of wealth garnered by slaughtering rebelling nobles and taking all their possessions as well as major contributions from the infected nobles, Alena began a significant military upgrades in order to raise the level of the Kingdom's military to fight the Chaos forces at equal ground. She was also funded by raiding of Inquisition's assets, confiscation of wealthy merchants and receiving of gold, silver, iron, coal and other raw materials from the Zerg Swarm itself. After all, none of the other factions on this world had the mining power like the Swarm, and the Overmind was willing to pay in gold, silver and anything Alena needed to make the Kingdom and the Chaos kill each other.

Alena, using the vast amount of wealth, ordered construction of a massive factory complex using the best technology retained by the Kingdom. A hundred smelters partially run by the plasma technology of the Imperium were set up in a neat row while two thousand workshops were constructed with a blacksmith and his apprentices attached to each workshop. However, this was only one of the factory complexes. Similar facilities were set up with different aims. There was one factory for the swords, one for the spears, one for the crossbow, one for the primitive gunpowder rifles and ammunition, one for the gunpowder cannons, one for shields, one for light armor, one for heavy armor and one for horse armor. People flocked to the Capital in order to get a job, and blacksmiths and other related workers were conscripted by Alena to work in the factories. However, this had caused a major shortage of metal and metalworkers across the Kingdom, as was intended by the Swarm. Ten thousand blacksmiths in one spot had meant that outlying areas of the Kingdom now lacked the ability to produce weapons and armor to fight the Swarm when the Swarm finally invades.

Of course, Alena did not just draft blacksmiths and their apprentices. Levies of soldiers were demanded to every lord of the realm, and many consented to sent their legal minimum, only to be rebuked by Alena and face thousands of soldiers marching on their castle to enforce heavier levies. Within half a year, every lesser lords of the East and nearly half the Central were stripped of their standing military forces and most of their able-bodied men. While the village elders and local lords worried about the next harvest and next spring, Alena came up with so much grains that somewhat eased the worries of the people. What they didn't know was that those grains came from the lesser human realms conquered by the Swarm. The Swarm ransacked every grain storage on the islands of lesser kingdoms, and even had the Drones and Overlords spread seeds over the islands just in case they had to feed the people of the Kingdom so that they may continue fighting the Chaos. With levies collected by the thousands and peasants conscripted by the hundreds of thousands, Alena began a massive armament program so ambitious that uninfected nobles were worried about the cost.

Alena was quick to answer the worries. She proclaimed a law that demanded every village in the South to abandon their villages and head to the walled cities and towns on the reason that the 'strange creatures of the South' were too dangerous for the villages to fend off. Lesser nobles such as landed-knights, barons and earls were ordered to abandon their castles and head to nearest walled cities and towns. This had somewhat matched the worries of the villagers and they flocked to the cities and towns. Alena also dispatched her loyal forces and ransacked every empty village and castles. Entire convoys of treasures and sacked goods were ferried along the river for a month before the last vestige of wealth disappeared from the South. Now, the South, where the Swarm poised itself to invade, was effectively cornered into scores of walled towns and cities, cooped up in a stress-intense environment with little food and less control. Murders and theft and every other kinds of barbarism began to show up within those walls, and without their knowledge, the Swarm slowly crept up north. It was not until very later that the people of the South realized that they were corralled into tiny cages of their own making, but by that time, they were utterly surrounded by the Swarm.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom prepared for war with all its might. More conscripts were brought in every day while more lords in the outer areas were defecting to the Duke of Verin, who was now well-known for his association with the loyalist Space Marines. Yet, the reaches of the Kingdom was still very great, and every day a baron or an earl or a count were dragged in by the Queen's forces on the charges of treason, since the Duke of Verin had been declared a traitor and a heretic by the Kingdom. Alena's powers had been growing steadily, and after her first year as the Queen, she already reached the peak of power in the Kingdom. Armed by the high-quality arms and armors by the Queen's factories, there were nearly fifty thousand mounted knights in heavy plate armor, one hundred eighty thousand mounted sergeants in chainmail armor and heavy melee weapons, seventy thousand horse archers, two hundred thousand crossbowmen with chainmail, one hundred thousand swordsmen with chainmail, shield and sword, two hundred thousand spearmen armed with steel-plated leather armor and extra sword on the belt, fifty thousand axemen, ten thousands Guardsmen, thirty thousand gunners with gunpowder rifles, and six thousand gunpowder cannons each manned by ten men. In total, Alena could field nine hundred fifty thousand soldiers against the Chaos. In such numbers, even the Swarm would be slowed in its tracks, and that was the reason the Overmind had sent Alena to the Kingdom.

With the Queen's Army in the North already being nearly three hundred thousand strong, another influx of troops at nearly a million in number, the Kingdom was poised to crush the Chaos forces with relative ease. Judanus had noticed a large troop movements in the Kingdom, but upon hearing that a Queen, of young age, had taken reign, he turned his focus against his loyalist brothers who waged a deadly guerrilla warfare against the forces of Chaos. Supported by Duke of Verin and his sizable force trained by the loyalist Space Marine and armed with laspistols produced by the archeotech hidden in the Space Marines' secret hideout, the loyalists were getting bolder and causing more damage. This was not acceptable to Judanus, and so he made a grave mistake of not recognizing the Kingdom's readiness for war. Then on the 20th month of Alena's reign, she mobilized her forces. Thanks to the loyalist Space Marines and the Chaos forces fighting each other, she had gained valuable time to arm and train her forces. Of course, it was also true that she could not really hold a million soldiers on standby anymore. Though the Swarm delivered another shipment of grain from the ruins of lesser human realms, the reserve strengths of the Kingdom was nearly depleted from such heavy mobilization. Without the labor force, the harvest was barely adequate only to the level of feeding everyone with no surplus. Without the labor force, the planting was bad, and people began to worry. Indeed, Alena had stripped the Kingdom of most of its able-bodied men.

She knew that once the harvest come, she would find her 'million-strong' army would see thousands of deserters. She was not willing to accept that, and made the decision to attack the forces of Chaos. By this time, the Swarm had planted several hundred more officers and lords in the military, and they were set up in good positions across the army. Alena also implemented the Commissariat, which had fallen into disuse over the centuries, and only the title remained. She revived the Commissariat, and newly commissioned Commissars were filtered throughout the Queen's Army. With a full control of her army, she marched north, leaving the Kingdom bare and on the precipice of utter ruin.

* * *

><p>"Attack! Attack, you cowards! First man to die gets the glory!"<p>

The Commissar's roar both terrified and provoked his men into a frenzied battle. The Commissar had a fine steel saber that glowed with eerie blue glow that matched the color of the tiny crystal on the guard of the sword. He also held a pistol that looked suspiciously like a Smith & Wesson 500 Magnum, a weapon forgotten by mankind in this time, and only beings with the knowledge of this weapon would be the God Emperor of Mankind, who has been around a long long time, or the Overmind, who was in possession of the memory of James Malcolm Raynor.

Blam!

The Commissar's revolver fired a round, tearing through the steel helmet of a spearman and shattering his skulls into pieces along with the blasted pieces of the brain.

"No coward will leave this place! Fight on!"

The fear of the Commissar's large revolver and glowing sword drove the men on against the horrors of Chaos. Of course, it was not that the enemy was no less scary. In front of this spearman company was a company of Chaos Cultists. They were numbered similarly but the composition was far from same. While the infantry company of the Queen Army was made up of five platoons, each formed from four twenty-five-men squads. This had meant that there were five hundreds spearman in the company, or more exactly, 480 spearmen plus 20 sergeants with chainmail and sword & shield, and 5 Commissars and the Company Command Squad. The Company Command Squad consisted of a Captain and four unmounted knights with same kind of glowing sword as the Commissar and similar revolver. The Captain carried a laspistol also.

This particular infantry company was facing a section of a Chaos Warband. Made up of a leading Aspiring Champion formerly from Word Bearers, and his four hundred eighty Cultists, eleven Bloodletters and three daemon possessed gunpowder cannons, this warband had slaughtered its way over a year since being called upon by Judanus himself. The Aspiring Champion, going by the name O'garoth the Ravager, was given a power sword with a bound Bloodletter in return for his services. Also, he was given the leave to take over a barony and every soul within it. He had taken his choice barony, conscripted men and tortured them until they were insane and joined the cult, raped and murdered women and devoured children as meat. Now, he was promised two more baronies and he was very willing to kill for them.

"Kill them! For Chaos!"

"For Chaos!"

Repeating their master were twenty sergeants of O'garoth's Warband. If the Overmind saw them, he would say that they looked very much like the Chaos Warriors from Warhammer Fantasy. They were large men, perhaps twisted and mutated by Chaos, but large on the whole, and they were wearing heavy steel armors fully covering them in Chaos infested steel. They wore great horned helms, held mighty swords with twisted and curved edges, round shield on one side with the skins of human faces covering the surface in a thick layer.

"Kill the monstrous beasts of Chaos! Kill them! Murder them! All in the name of our beloved Queen!"

The Captain roared in response to the Chaos leader's screaming of rage.

Then the battle was joined. Cultists attacked first, their insane rage taking them over within seconds. Three daemonic cannons fired, shooting balls of warpfire into the ranks of the human soldiers. Bloodletters charged in first, their giant Hellblades carving a bloody path through the spearmen who thrust their sharp weapon against the tough skins of the daemons. The spears were useless against daemons, but there were sergeants and Commissars. The sergeants had a sword and shield, and though they did not know how their swords were glowing or why, but they knew that it held power, and so did the shield.

Clang!

The Hellblade struck a round steel shield of a sergeant, and unlike others, the Hellblade could not shear away a chunk of the shield. With a brilliant blue spark the shield held, and in that moment surprise in the daemon's narrow insane mind, the sergeant struck the daemon with his sword, equally glowing blue, though much less than that of the Commissar's sword or that of the Captain's and his knights' swords.

Screeeeee~

The daemon screamed as the sword of the sergeant seared its way into the flesh. The glowing of the sword had not only pierced the tough hide of the daemon, but it dissolved the flesh around the blade, actually causing pain to the daemon.

It was not the only daemon to suffer such fate. The Captain and his knights had joined the fray and hacked away at the daemons while the Commissar shot another deserter and drove the men to fight the cultists. As for the cultists and spearmen, they fought mostly on equal terms, save for the twenty heavily armed leaders. Those leaders soon noticed their rivals, and bore down on the sergeants, the Commissar and the knights.

Yet, the Chaos warriors had underestimated the Queen's knights. The glowing of the men's swords were not just effective against the daemons but against steel as well. With strike with the glowing blades sliced into the armors of the Chaos warrior while the corrupted steel blades could not pierce the glowing shield.

"Interesting weapons!"

O'garoth joined the battle at last.

"A traitor!"

The Commissar, the brave fool that he is, had met the gaze of the Chaos Marine, and charged.

"How puny~! A mockery of a real Commissar, but I guess you will do for my sacrifice to the Dark Gods!"

O'garoth raised his left hand and the bolt pistol within it. Yet, the Commissar was faster. He raised his revolver and let out four rounds at O'garoth.

"Argh!"

Though three struck O'garoth's chest armor and the steel tipped bullets bounced harmless away, one of the rounds grazed O'garoth near his right temple, causing him to bleed.

"You bleed like everything else, dog!"

"You will suffer for this impudence!"

Dakka!

The bolt round hit squarely on the Commissar's right knee, blasting it apart with such ease. The Commissar screamed as he fell. O'garoth's sword moved in sync, and pierced the Commissar's back just he fell.

"Ugh! No... Not like this..."

"Ah, yes. This is how you die!"

Removing his sword, O'garoth picked up the bleeding Commissar, who was still alive, and lifted him up to his face.

"You have an interesting weapon. Your officers all do. Where did it come from?"

Dying, the Commissar chuckled.

"What... makes you... think that... I will... tell you that?"

O'garoth lost his interest. He would have others to torture and get the information.

"It doesn't matter."

"Indeed."

In that moment, the Commissar shoved something down O'garoth's armor. O'garoth was not wearing his helmet, and so there was an open space where his helmet should be.

"What?"

It looked like a stick grenade, and though O'garoth felt invincible in his insane worship of Chaos Gods, he knew that losing his head was not a good way to serve the dark gods. He dropped his prey and his pistol and tried to pick out the grenade, but it was smooth and for the first time, his armored gloves were useless.

Booom!

The dynamite exploded, and it exploded so close to the head of the Chaos Marine that O'garoth, or what's left of him, was without the front half of his face, and his neck was torn out. It was sheer resilience of a Space Marine's body, albeit that of a Chaos Marine, that any part of his head remained, but even the remaining bits were charred and scarred.

Without their leader, the cultists suddenly found cowardice in their hearts, and with that, four of the Chaos warriors fell, and in a frantic scramble for survival, the cultists began to retreat and then scatter.

"Now! Signal them now!"

The Captain screamed his orders at a sergeant, and the sergeant took out a flare and used it. Then as if responding to the flare, a cadre of cavalry appeared and swept through the ranks of retreating cultists. The battle was over, and the Queen's Army victorious in this battle.

This kind of victory appeared all over the map as Alena's army pressed its advantage. Its massive number overwhelmed even the Chaos Marines, and they were shot, hacked and blasted apart by the humans. There were also the glowing weapons of the officers. Though the truth was very simple in that the Swarm had provided scraps of Khaydarin Crystals to Alena, and she had the blacksmiths to install small amethyst in each of the officers' weapon and shield, and poured in the psionic energy into the amethyst. By nature, gems and crystals could hold psionic or psychic energy better than metal or any other materials, and among them amethyst had the best retention rate. Alena and infested nobles visited the factories everyday on some random pretext and imbued each bulk of weapons and shields with psionic energies of the Khaydarin Crystal. Of course, these weapons had to be recharged every week or so, or after an intense battle, but once the officers understood the value of these weapons, there were no need for pretensions. Had the Inquisition been around, they would have accused the Queen Alena and the nobles as witches with magic powers, but the Swarm had already manipulated the Kingdom to getting rid of the Inquisition.

* * *

><p>However, the Inquisition was not completely dead. A handful of Inquisitors had survived the purge, and had fled north west, and they had joined the Duke of Verin and the loyalist Space Marines. Among them was the Inquisitor Pardia, the first Inquisitor to understand the threat posed by the Zerg. When he had seen Alena for the first time in the palace, he realized who she was, but it was too late. He barely got out alive. He evaded bounty hunters who tracked down and killed every Inquisitor they could find. Pardia gathered up surviving Inquisitors and traveled to the West and informed the Duke of Verin how the Kingdom had fallen into the hands of a Xeno Witch, who now sat on the throne as the Queen of the Kingdom. Unfortunately, the Duke had neither the resources or the power to challenge Alena. Most of his military resource was committed against the Chaos forces that dared to press westward, and supporting the loyalist Space Marines who fought a deadly hide-and-seek against the Chaos. Though he was now the single most powerful independent noble on the planet, he could not match Alena's army, despite a score of nobles defecting to him. Also, he was facing Zerg Swarm encroaching upon the southern most reaches of the West. Of his two thousand cavalries and one hundred thousand men-at-arms, half were deployed against the North and the Chaos forces there, while other half was blocking the Swarm and the Kingdom.<p>

"My lord, the time is now! The Witch Queen has moved every military asset against the North, and the realm is empty. You must reach out to those nobles and take over the Kingdom!"

Pardia was singing the same song every day since Alena assailed the North, and the Duke was tired of it.

"ENOUGH! I have enough headache dealing with the forces of Chaos and the xeno creatures from the South. I cannot waste men and money to mollycoddle the nobles of the Central just to take over the empty Kingdom where no able-bodied men now live. The harvest in the Kingdom is expected to be devastatingly poor, and if I take over now, I must feed them, and I do not have the grains to feed the entire Central."

"But my lord!"

"I said, enough, Inquisitor. Once we deal with the Chaos we can deal with your accusation about the Queen."

"She is the Witch that consorted with the xenos!"

The Duke shook his head in exasperation.

"She is a daughter of a nobleman, and she cannot have been where you say she has been."

"I know that I sound ridiculous, but what I say is true. I stake my name as an Inquisitor on the truth of it."

"Blast you name as an Inquisitor. The Inquisition is gone, sir. You are nothing but a guest in my house. You have no authority, no power, no money, no men. You will behave as I demand or you may return to your 'Inquisitorial Chapterhouse' or what ruins that are left of it."

Pardia paled, and he bowed.

"As you say, I am a guest in your house. I take my leave."

"Go cool down, Inquisitor. We will talk about the Queen at a later date."

"Yes, my lord."

Pardia got out of the Duke's court, and headed down to the courtyard. There, two other Inquisitors were waiting for him. Pardia was now the senior Inquisitor, and technically the Inquisitor Lord but he was not about to claim such title when the title was now gone.

"How did it go, brother?"

Pardia shook his head.

"It's no use. The Duke is too preoccupied with dealing with the forces of Chaos to recognize that the real threat is the xeno creatures."

"This is worrisome, brother Pardia. If the Queen is a xeno witch like you say..."

Pardia's eyes hardened.

"There is no if. She is that evil witch girl that I have failed to kill that day."

"Of course."

Pardia and the two Inquisitors began to walk out of the castle as they talked.

"Did you find where it is?"

At Pardia's question, one of the Inquisitors shook his head.

"I'm afraid not, sir. These Space Marines have hidden their weapons too tell. They use their blasphemous 'teleportation' to go back and forth from their hiding place."

"This is troublesome. If we can just find their hideout and take their weapons, it would be much easier."

The other Inquisitor smiled.

"On that aspect, I have a news."

"Oh?"

"I have found the armory through which the Space Marines supply the Duke with the advanced weapons."

Pardia's hopeful expression faded.

"The best they give are the laspistols. They are not enough."

The Inquisitor shook his head.

"There are lasguns, brother. By the hundreds. The Duke is arming his Guardsmen in secret."

Pardia's eyes brightened.

"In secret? Why?"

"I do not know, but as far as I can tell, only the Duke and the Space Marines know of this."

Pardia mused.

"If other nobles hear of this, they will demand lasguns as well. This can cause enough political pressure on the Duke to reroute his forces to dealing with the Witch Queen."

* * *

><p>Though furious at the news of defeats, Judanus remained calm. Changes in war may not be great, but to Tzeentch, any change is good change.<p>

"Truly, the works of Sorceror God is mysterious."

At Judanus' musing, Lilgath nodded.

"Yes, and the Blood God is pleased as well, my lord. All blood spilled is a gift to Khorne."

"Indeed. However, I must turn the tide of war once more."

This was very true. Judanus had already lost nearly twenty Warbands, big ones and small ones, and seventeen more were engaging the Queen's Army, but the Queen's forces were far too numerous and far too prepared to handle with a score of Chaos Marines each leading small armies of Cultists. Like the Space Marines, Chaos Marines were also more powerful then working with each other rather than as the head of mere cultists.

"Perhaps you could summon a somewhat more robust warband to your cause."

At this suggestion, Judanus growled, baring his numerous fangs.

"You dare suggest such an obviously disastrous path, Lilgath? Even a blinded devotee of Khorne like you can see how a warband of substantial size can ruin my plans."

Like all Tzeentchian followers, Judanus was wary of everything. His mind skittered here and there, trying to find causes, effects, impacts and traps of every situation. If a large enough Chaos Warband came to the planet, they could cast Judanus aside and take the world for themselves.

"Not if you were ready, my lord Judanus."

Judanus narrowed his eyes.

"Hmm... I see. To the Vault!"

Judanus led Lilgath and the eight pseudo-Rubric Marines to the Warp Vault of Judanus. There, Warp-corrupted Servitors regularly threw in slaves to the maw of the warp.

"Stand aside, automatons!"

At the command of their lord and master, the horribly mutated Servitors moved aside and let their master commune with the Warp Portal within the Vault. The daemon sword Ga'huld crackled as Judanus pulled it out and pointed it at the Warp Portal.

"I beseech the currents of the Warp to be bound to my bidding, so that I may use it to serve the greater evils of the Dark Gods!"

Lilgath then threw in a slave into the Warp Portal, and that poor peasant woman was instantly torn apart by the entropy of the Warp, and her soul was shatter and then devoured by the daemons and the Chaos Gods. After a moment, the portal narrowed, and a face appeared.

~What is this? What is the meaning of this interruption?~

An intelligent but harsh voice spoke as he peered into the portal now looking like some sort of communication device.

"It is I, Judanus."

~Ah, the young Chaos Lord of a forgotten backwater planet.~

Judanus growled at such dismissive reply, but he knew that his opponent was far more powerful and far more influential than himself.

"Lord Bile, I want to ask if my orders are ready."

Indeed, the man Judanus was talking to was none other than Fabius Bile, the former Chief Apothecary of the Emperor's Children, and currently the foremost expert in cloning, making of Space Marines and of creating monsters. Judanus had promised five hundred psychically talented children and other prices in return for Chaos Marine troops of his own.

~Yes, your orders are ready and have been for some time.~

"What do you mean?"

Judanus was a little surprised.

~You must have forgotten about the warping of time around your little planet, Judanus.~

Judanus remembered. The time did not flow normally in Warp, and more so for Judanus as his Warp Vault disrupted the flow of the Warp around the planet.

~Give me my final payment, and you shall have your Chaos Marine troops, all ready to be indoctrinated however you want them to.~

"Excellent. Lilgath, bring me my gift to Lord Bile."

The five hundred children were already sent over as the down payment, but it was time to pay off the rest. Lilgath brought in a large power fist and a set of Narthecium, the Space Marine Apothecary's field med kit.

~Ah! There they are. Very good. Open your portal and take your men, Lord Judanus.~

Within minutes, the chamber that holds the Warp Vault of Judanus was filled with thirty two naked Chaos Marines with blank eyes. Judanus smiled.

"Servitors! There are sets of Power Armors and weapons in the armory that once belonged to the Chapter that I used to be in. Take these Chaos Marines and clad them in those armor and arm them with those weapons."

Lilgath, however, was not convinced.

"How do you expect that these blanked out versions of ourselves can fight?"

Judanus chuckled.

"Their body matters very little, my friend. They are shell that I can use at will. Now, bring me more slaves. I have much work to do."

When Judanus walked out from the chamber looking gaunt from exertion, he came out with thirty two Chaos Marines filled with murderous purposes. Sixteen of the Chaos Marines wielded chainaxe and a pistol of some kind, and they were covered in blood-red color, while the other sixteen had strange blue and pink tinge, and held in their hands ranged weapons.

"What did you do?"

"I bound daemons into those flesh. Sixteen Bloodletters, and sixteen Horrors of Tzeentch."

Lilgath paled.

"You dared to bind so many daemons? Do you realize that if you ever make a mistake grave enough to warrant the release of those daemons, they will tear your flesh and soul into unimaginably tiny bits."

Judanus smiled with glee.

"Then I should not make such mistakes. Now, we can call in more Warbands. It's time to show these mortals how a real war is fought in the galaxy."


	35. Chapter 35

Okay, another chapter... here you go!

As for SG: Galactic Imperium... I've written out a storyboard-thingy for an epic first battle between GEK and Void Keeper... and the Farseer Laemis being kidnapped... but I got GEK meeting the God Emperor of Mankind bit about half done...

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 35<strong>

Suddenly, the contest between the forces of Chaos and the Loyalist Space Marines took a sharp turn for the worse for the Loyalists. So emboldened by his newly acquired Chaos Marines to personal retinue, Judanus began to sacrifice hundreds of slaves each day, and each day he summoned more Warbands to his cause. The problem was that the Warbands he now summoned were not like the ones before, where a single Aspiring Champion would lead a group of Cultists in order to gain enough infamy and wealth to rise in power. These new Warbands had more Chaos Marines and more daemons. With the promise of slaughter, Judanus brought in a small Warband from the World Eaters, infamous for their fanatical worship of Khorne through murdering, which consisted of five raving Khorne Berserkers and fifteen Chaos Marines followed by three hundred cultists equally as insane as the Chaos Marines. Judanus sent this Warband to fight the human Kingdom. He sent another seven Warbands made mostly of Chaos Marines, with total Chaos Marine count as 128, against the Kingdom and the Queen's Army, making enough initial impact against the humans to slow their advance. Given the relief from one front, he sent another thirty Chaos Marines to finish off the Northern Orks and the last vestiges of the Greenskins in the tundra of the Far North. Then, Judanus focused his attention against the Loyalists.

Gathering to him six Chaos Sorcerers, on loan from the Thousand Sons legion, and their small band of Rubric Marines, Judanus set out to hunt down his loyalist former-brothers. Leading the lone Predator Tank, possibly the only remaining human-made tank left on this world, Judanus led his Chaos Marines west. Even so, Judanus had forces much larger and more powerful than that of the Loyalists. While the Loyalists only had three or four deployed in the front at any given time, Judanus fielded 86 Chaos Marines, though they were mostly Rubric Marines in need of their sorcerer masters. Just as the Razorback of the Loyalists could not stand against the Predator Destructor of the Chaos forces, the Loyalists' armies of well-armed humans could not stand against an army of Chaos Marines and thousands of Cultists. Bit by bit, the Loyalists were driven back to the West, losing all the ground they had gained over the years with sweat of their brows and blood of Verin's soldiers. Fortresses and castles, garrisoned by soldiers and knights of the Duke of Verin, began to fall one by one despite every attempt made by the Techmarine Pelagas to boost the defenses of those strongholds. Pelagas had broken scores of rules of the Mechanius to create even an inch of advantage over his traitorous brothers. He had taught the blacksmiths of the Duke Verin to make guns that were still far beyond the technology of the planet. Though limited by the lack of infrastructure, the Duke had managed to arm nearly three thousand men with autoguns, while four hundred heavy stubbers were dispersed among the frontier strongholds.

Yet, not even the high and thick stone walls, heavy stubbers, gunners with autoguns or the heavily armed knights with crude power swords and laspistols could stop the onslaught of the Chaos forces personally led by Judanus himself. Not only did the Chaos Lord drove his sorcerers and their Rubric Marines against the Loyalists, he also summoned a hundred Bloodletters and Pink Horrors against the men of the West.

* * *

><p>Boom!<p>

The room shook as something exploded against the walls of the keep. A knight, middle aged and with slightly grey beard tucked within his open but ornately decorated helmet, growled as he grabbed his sword from the table. Then a young man in chainmail and heraldric coat came rushing in with the autogun dangling from his shoulders.

"My lord! They are here!"

The knight lord was less than impressed with the young soldier huffing and puffing from running up the stairs.

"I can see that, soldier. Where are my sergeants?"

"They are already on the wall, sir."

At this answer, the lord nodded.

"Good. Let's go."

They turned and went through a different door than the one where the soldier had entered. The keep had a door that led directly to the wall.

"Sergeant!"

"My lord! The Chaos forces sighted but they have stopped in their tracks."

The lord nodded.

"Are my men ready?"

"Yes, lord. All two hundred knights are assembling near the gate."

The nobleman, being an experienced and seasoned warrior who had fought the Chaos alongside the Loyalists for years, grimly nodded as he turned to the young soldier.

"Soldier."

"Yes, my lord."

"See if you can find Lord Space Marine and tell him that I humbly request his advise."

Just as the soldier turned to leave, a slightly altered voice answered.

"That will not be necessary, Lord Barrot. I am here."

The lord immediately bowed his head, along with other soldiers.

"My lord Eblas."

Tactical Marine Eblas of the Squad Kharan, now one of a small handful of Loyalist Marines stranded upon this world, watched the hundreds of men lined up on the walls. Many had autoguns and some had lasguns. There were six heavy stubbers located on the battlements above the six towers located around the wall as well.

"No more need to talk, Lord Barrot. There is no reinforcement for us. There is no surrender for us. Either we tough this out or we die. Let not the Emperor see your men's cowardice."

"Yes, Lord Eblas."

"I shall take my position on the eastern tower. Take care, Lord Barrot."

Then as Eblas turned to leave, Barrot stopped him.

"What is it, Lord Barrot?"

"You should leave, my lord."

"Leave?"

"I know that you have that magical thing that would get you out of here."

Barrot had meant the teleporter and the homing device for the teleporter. Eblas shook his head.

"No. I shall make my stand here, and take as many of them as I can."

"There aren't enough of us to survive this, Lord Eblas. Already three castles and four fortresses have fallen in last month alone! We cannot win, but we can buy you time to survive."

Seeing at the stubbornness of Barrot, Eblas nodded.

"I will pull out if as soon as I deem it fit, Lord Barrot. I assure you that I will survive this."

Then another explosion rocked the walls and six soldiers on the wall about a hundred meters from Eblas and Barrot fell to their deaths as shrapnel from the explosion skewered them and tossed them over.

"Damn it! Get in position!"

"Yes, Lord Eblas."

* * *

><p>However, the battle did not fare as good as they had hoped. Though they rained down bullets and laser beams, all they managed to kill were Cultists, and the efficiency of the kill wasn't so great either. Then the Predator came and fired its cannon a lot more frequently against the castle and its gate. As the Chaos Marines came closer and closer, daemons coaxed from the Warp through the Vault were brought to bear. Pink Horrors of Tzeentch threw balls of Warp Fire and the Rubric Marines under the Sorcerers' command fired their own Bolter against the defenders. Bolt rounds and laser beams and slugs from Cultists' own autoguns raked the walls and the soldiers defending them. As more and more soldiers fell, more and more blood were spilled, and that pleased Khorne. Sensing the will of Khorne being in an approving mood, the Chaos Sorcerers began to cast another spell. From the puddles and pools of blood in and around the castle, began to boil, and a dozen or so of Bloodletters suddenly jumped out of the Warp and began slaughtering everything alive. Yet, the sorcerers were greatly displeased as only a dozen daemons were coaxed into reality. Had the Warp Storm was not there and if things happened just as the sorcerers wanted them, then there would have been four times as many daemons appearing inside the castle.<p>

* * *

><p>Ultimately it was Eblas and a handful of knights fighting a desperate battle against the invaders. Eblas, Barrot and two dozen knights had retreated to the uppermost chamber of the keep of the castle to make their final stand. Though Barrot insisted that Eblas escape through the teleportation, it was too late. The presence of so many Chaos Sorcerers and their casting of various spells had disrupted the area with static energy that teleportation was almost impossible. Eblas had placed a single Heavy Bolter on a table and pointed to the only door that led to the room they were in. Eblas knew that he had to take a melee role. He grabbed his Power Axe and Bolt Pistol and gave Barrot his Bolter so that he may shoot down even one more Chaos Marine. Other knights also prepared their lasguns and autoguns and aimed them at the door.<p>

"Here they come!"

The door exploded inward and sprayed pieces of the thick wooden door and bits of Doom Bolt cast by the Chaos Sorcerers. Then three grenades were rolled inside.

"Grenade!"

One exploded in a storm of shrapnel, instantly killing nine knights while another exploded with Warp Fire and terrible sorcery locked within it. Seven knights were swept up in scorching fires of purple and blue color and their bodies twisted and changed in manners so random that their bodies could not handle the stress. Those seven knights exploded in a shower of blood and their bones and armor were twisted into hideous form. Eblas roared.

"Do not falter! Do not back down! They will not show you any mercy! Fight or die!"

Remaining knights steeled their resolve and fired at the door just as the Bloodletters charged in with their Hellblades at the ready. The power of Heavy Bolter was tremendous. Fired and shot at such close distance and such funneled location, the daemons were quickly cut down with the aid of Bolter and Bolt Pistol as well as eight remaining knights firing their lasguns and autoguns. Once the daemons were dead, there was silence as if the defenders gave the attackers something to think about.

"Is it over?"

One of the knights hesitantly asked, even though he knew the answer.

"No... They are planning..."

Before Eblas could complete his answer, the floor beneath them exploded. To Eblas and Barrot and other knights, everything seemed to slow down for a moment as their were suddenly lifted into the air just as the floor exploded upwards then fall down.

Crash!

Eblas was the first one to shake off the shock. The fall itself wasn't too great since the keep was built by the locals and it was small and only three floors high. Yet, the fall had stunned Eblas for a moment before he realized that the Chaos forces were all over him.

"You will not take me so easily!"

Dakka! Dakka! Dakka!

Three bolt rounds exited Eblas' Bolt Pistol and hit a Rubric Marine squarely in the head. The helmet cracked and bits exploded apart and it fell. From the chasm within the Power Armor of the Rubric Marine, a single skeleton was seen, half mutated and half still human, and slivers of what used to be flesh but now a Warp-matter connected the Power Armor to the skeleton. From that skeleton, a small wisp of smoke, so purple yet red and yellow and blue and green at the same time, rose up in a sparkling thrashing of the wisp. Then as the Rubric Marine fell, three Cultists appeared.

"Die, heretics!"

Jumping back into a standing position, Eblas swung his Power Axe, still crackling in readiness, and the Power Axe cleaved its way across the neck of the first Cultist, chest of the second Cultist and abdomen of the third Cultist. Felling three Cultists in a single swoop, he heard the sound of a chain weapon behind him. He turned his head to see a wickedly deformed chain sword being swung toward his head.

Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka!

Someone shot a Bolter and the wielder of the chain sword, a Chaos Marine of some random Warband that worshiped Khorne, was struck by five bolt rounds. However, Barrot, for it was him who fired the weapon of the Space Marines, was not a great shot compared to the Space Marines, and Power Armor, be it of the Loyalists or the Traitors, was powerful thing. Two of the rounds glanced off the armor while the third one stuck the shoulder pauldron. Yet, it was the two other rounds of Bolter fire that hit the Chaos Marine in the chest and the right forearm of the Chaos Marine. The forearm exploded and the chain sword fell from his grasp, while the round shot in the chest staggered the Chaos Marine.

"You cannot kill me, traitorous coward!"

Eblas shouted an insult as he brought down his Power Axe upon the head of the Chaos Marine who quickly used his left hand to grab Eblas' right elbow, stopping the Power Axe in its tracks. But Eblas was an experienced warrior who knew how to count the number of rounds in his magazine. The Bolt Pistol was instantly aimed at the head of the Chaos Marine and Eblas squeezed the trigger.

Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka!

Because the short range, the bolt rounds did not explode but they did pierce the Chaos Marine's helmet and killed the traitor.

"You have two rounds left. Do you think you can kill me with it?"

A familiar but hated voice was heard. Eblas turned and stared at the Arch-Traitor of his Chapter and the 5th Company.

"You! Judanus the Traitor reveals himself at most opportune moment!"

Judanus chuckled as he opened his arms.

"Well, I am here, brother. Will you kill me now?"

The mocking in Judanus' voice was so clear, but Eblas was no longer thinking at that moment.

"Most certainly!"

Dakka Dakka!

Two rounds were fired just as Eblas charged. They had aimed for the head, since Judanus was not wearing his helmet. Yet, Judanus was fast and he had expected such attack. The Chaos Lord raised his left hand, clad in terrible and powerful Power Claw, a Chaos fusion of Power Fist and Lightning Claw, and blocked the attack. Eblas had also expected that, and sought to avail himself to the momentary blind spot created by that blocking move. The Power Axe came down hard to strike at Judanus' right thigh, hoping to disable the mighty Chaos Lord before making the killing blow. The Chaos Lord, however, was a veteran of war far older than Eblas, and imbued with the power of Chaos, he was faster. Without hesitation, the Chaos Lord drove his horribly twisted Power Sword into Eblas' path. Eblas did not have the time to evade the counter-move. The blade, twisted and gnarled yet so sharp and crackling with disturbing energies of Warp, pierced right through the Space Marine's Power Armor.

"NO!"

Lord Barrot roared and raised his Bolter, but he was no match for any of the Chaos Marines, let alone a Chaos Sorcerer of the Thousand Sons.

"Would someone silence the fool, please?"

A Chaos Sorcerer stepped forward and raised his Force Sword and pointed it at Lord Barrot. Something misty formed around the Force Sword and it flew toward the human warrior and pierced his chest.

"Urgh... no... no... no..."

The Sorcerer then swung his sword, and Lord Barrot was flung to the side and crashed into the wall so hard that his body exploded upon the impact and his armor, so finely made from finest steel, was crumpled up like it was a cast out tissue.

"Thank you. Now, where was I, brother? Ah, yes... I was killing you."

Judanus chuckled as he raised his Power Claw. He grabbed the Space Marine's head by the helmet, and slowly squeezed it.

"Any last words, brother? Such as your surrender of your soul to the Gods of Chaos? If that's your last word, then I may spare your life, BROTHER!"

Elbas was not swayed even as he was dying.

"Your dark... gods... can have... my bolter rounds... shot in their... heads... traitor SCUM!"

Judanus did not stop smiling.

"Well, I never expected you to see the light. I shall now kill you and trap your soul in an urn so that you may witness the death of your loyalist brothers by my hands."

The mechanism of the Power Claw squeezed the helmet until it cracked, then the helmet began to crumple up slowly, and Eblas screamed as massive pressure was applied slowly to his skull and to his face. The screaming did not stop for nearly five minutes and the body stopped thrashing a few seconds after the screaming stopped.

"He was always weak. Hahahah! Now, bind his soul to what I have prepared."

"Yes, lord Judanus."

The Chaos Sorcerers were already waiting and casting spells. From the dead body of Eblas, a grey mist came out in a form similar to a Power Armored Space Marine, and it was taken by the crackling energies around the hands of the Chaos Sorcerers and was shoved into a metallic urn carefully carved with various enchantment of Chaos and other horrific arts.

~_That looks interesting._~

* * *

><p>~<em>That looks interesting.<em>~

A new voice interrupted Judanus admiring his work in the urn. A female voice had suddenly interrupted them. Yet, they could not find the source of the voice.

"What? Who dares disturb me?

Judanus looked around, but could not find anyone but his own troops. Then one of the sorcerers informed him.

"My lord, I believe that this voice came from outside."

"But..."

"It is not a real voice, lord Judanus."

"A psychic message."

"Yes, my lord."

Judanus narrowed his eyes and exited the keep.

"How could a daemonette enter this world without my summons? I am the LORD OF THIS WORLD! Who dared to summon a daemonette of Slaanesh WITHOUT my permission?"

Judanus was enraged, for he he thought he heard the voice a daemonette.

~Daemonette? Ah, those silly androgynous creatures of the Chaos God Slaanesh? You thought that I was a daemonette? How insulting. I am all woman, thank you.~

This reply only made Judanus fly into rage.

"Reveal yourself interloper! I will tear you into a thousand pieces!"

~You think your pathetic little power can kill me?~

From all around the castle, the ground exploded.

Roaaarrr! Screeech!

The Zerg had arrived.

* * *

><p>"Where is the Queen?"<p>

"She's taking a nap in her bedchamber."

"What? She needs to be at the Royal Court."

"She asked not to be disturbed until she comes out on her own."

"On her own? What about the maids?"

"They are waiting just outside the door."

"Well, I tell you what. That is not a Queen-like action."

"I hear ya."

* * *

><p>The Queen Alena, the Queen of the Kingdom and the new Queen of Blades, the Princess of the Swarm, the High Matriarch of the Zerg, appeared in front of the Chaos forces in all her splendor and power. She had evolved even further now that she was the Queen of the humans as well. She was present in every execution of rebels who dared to resist her rule, and though she did not kill them personally, she was present and was the only soul-absorbing member as the Spylings were ordered to stand down from absorbing the hundreds of human souls. Surrounding Alena were powerful Zergs. Six HunterKillers were guarding her flanks while Toby was right in front of her. Behind her were three dozen Hydralisks, each ready to fire their deadly ammunition against the forces of Chaos. Behind Judanus, his bodyguards and his warriors, came out thirty Roaches with sixty Zerglings. In the courtyard of the castle nearly three hundred Zerglings shot out from the ground surrounding the Cultists who quickly aimed their weapons against the creatures but paused as they watched the interaction between their master and the strange female creature. The Predator tank was immediately beset by four Ultralisks that surrounded the tank while a hundred Mutalisks suddenly swarmed overhead. Judanus instantly knew that he was outnumbered, and outmatched, once he saw one of his Chaos Marines fall easily by a Hydralisk's claws crackling with powerful energy. The Cultists inside the castle were almost instantly slaughtered while those outside were fighting a desperate battle against an enemy that outnumbered them at least five to one. With his Chaos Marines dispatched to assail other castles, Judanus had relatively small retinue with him at the moment. Seeing his disadvantage, Judanus was filled with rage.<p>

"What are you?"

Judanus growled a question as he gripped his weapon tighter.

"Oh, now you are interested in us. But you know us already. We have sent you an emissary before."

"An emissary?"

"Yes... do you not remember the Blood Master?"

Judanus remembered.

"You... you sent that imposter to me."

Alena chuckled sadistically at Judanus' ridiculous conclusion.

"Imposter? No... we did send you the Blood Master... just his body."

Judanus narrowed his eyes. He had no knowledge of this xeno race that dared to challenge him.

"You think to get away with this? You are the... Swarm."

Alena slowly walked up to Judanus, her gait as seductive as any daemonette but with far more power crackling around her.

"We are the Swarm, yes, but that is just ONE of the many names they call us... We are the Zerg. We are the Swarm. We are the Devouring Ones. We are the God Killers. We are the Conquerors of Auir and Destroyers of Tarsonis. We are the Unending Doom. We are the Zerg, and you must make your stand, Judanus the Chaos Lord. You can choose to stand with us or stand against us."

The offer was seductive. The moment that Judanus heard about the Blood Master, he remembered the reports from his spies about strange creatures lurking in the South, who had taken over half the South and encroaching upon the coasts of the West. Knowing that his powers were not as strong as he wanted, the offer of the xeno species was very tempting, yet so dangerous.

"You offer me an alliance?"

Alena smiled seductively.

"We have a common enemy. The Kingdom."

Judanus growled as Alena gracefully walked a circle around him with one of her fingernails dragging a sharp scratch upon his dark blue armor.

"They are no match for my powers. They will fall. They are not really my match. So, then we do not have a common enemy."

Alena sneered.

"You know that's not true. The Kingdom is pouring a million soldiers armed with new weapons and a new training and a new strategy. You just committed over a hundred Chaos Marines into the battlefield with much less effect that you had expected. Already, a dozen Chaos Marines are dead by the hand of the Queen's Army. You are bleeding men that you cannot afford to lose... How many civilians survive in the North now? Isn't your supply of slaves to sacrifice already showing signs of depletion?"

She knew so MUCH! Judanus could not believe his ears. A strange xeno creature, most certainly a some sort of construct to manage a communication, but still this creature knew so much.

"You... know this?"

"We are everywhere, Lord Judanus. We are the Swarm. We own this world. Though we are willing to come to a compromise."

"A compromise? What can you offer me?"

"The West."

Judanus shook his head.

"The Loyalists are about to be defeated. The West shall be mine no matter what."

It was Alena who shook her head this time.

"Not if we get there first. We already have a million creatures ready to pour into the West."

Judanus narrowed his eyes. Something was amiss. The Swarm, or the Zerg as they referred to themselves, wanted something.

"What is that you want?"

"The Loyalists, or at least their bodies."

"Their bodies?"

Alena chuckled.

"As you see, we are monstrous creatures, and we love to take bite of that strong flesh... though I suppose daemon-flesh and Chaos Marine-flesh would do if the situation warrants."

Alena had already circled Judanus twice and her hands were feeling him up, even though she only touched his armor.

"If you are so strong, and your forces so numerous, then why do you not take the West and the Loyalists by yourself? Why not destroy the Kingdom? You are bluffing."

Alena's eyes hardened.

"Bluffing? You think that we are bluffing?"

She pointed her right hand at one of the Chaos Sorcerers. A single bolt of psionic lightning spewed forth. The Chaos Sorcerer, like a good Chaos Space Marine of many centuries of war, reacted instant and raised a formidable wall of psychic power. Yet, Alena was too powerful. The wall was reduced to nothing and the Chaos Sorcerer was turned to dust within his own armor. As the Sorcerer's armor collapsed in a heap, the violently crackling form of the Sorcerer's soul appeared. Then just as it was heading out into the stars to meet its god, it was pulled toward Alena. She grabbed it and swallowed it. Though it was for a show, it did alarm the Chaos forces to no end. Sounds of guns cocking and chain weapons revving was heard all over the castle.

"You devoured a soul that belongs to a god..."

Judanus was equally horrified but did not show it.

"Yes... We are more powerful than you can imagine, but we are reasonable. You get the West and all its people for your sacrifice."

"Is that it? What then? After you devour the Loyalists and their souls... there is still the matter of the Kingdom."

Alena chuckled.

"Already afraid? You can sacrifice all the people in the West, and you may call forth entire Legions of Chaos Marines to fight us... or you can buy yourself an escape from here. I'm sure your Chaos Gods would love to ferry you to safety with so many sacrifices."

Judanus's expression cringed up in rage.

"You think me a coward."

"Maybe, maybe not... but unless you want to fight the Queen's Army, already preparing to strike back at you, and our unending flood of monstrous creatures... at the same time as fighting off the raids of the Loyalists..."

"I see... Then what is the endgame here?"

Alena smiled.

"You are quick. We will devour this world. You may choose to leave this world before it's your turn to be devoured. We seek to devour the Warp Storm as well... it would be a great feast indeed."

Judanus paled.

"The Warp Storm... You can... You would devour it?"

"We would consume it, just like how I swallowed that pitiful sorcerer's soul."

Judanus paused.

"Why not just kill me here, if you are so powerful as you suggest?"

"Then your forces would scatter, and it would take us longer to combat and then devour the Kingdom. Of course, you are welcome to challenge us at your own peril, and personally we want you to... be our food too."

Judanus narrowed his eyes as his mind raced.

"Very well. The West for the Loyalists... and..."

Alena answered.

"And we shall invade the Kingdom so that your front against the Queen's Army will be relieved."

"Then I get all the souls of the West save for the Loyalists."

"After that, we assail the Kingdom together. Once that is done, you can choose to leave and spread the word of our coming. We shall savor the taste of fear in the Chaos Space Marines when their time comes... Or, you can choose to make your stand."

"How shall we seal this deal?"

Alena's eyes went to the urn holding Eblas' soul.

"You give me this urn... and I will let you live. Then the deal shall be sealed."

Judanus growled, but he gave her the urn.

"Very well."

"Good... see you later, Judanus the Chaos Lord... I hope that next time we see each other, it would be me tearing our your skull and devouring your soul... or you can flee like coward."

Then, just like she appeared, every Zerg creature suddenly burrowed into the ground, and disappeared. Just as Alena disappeared, Judanus raged, with only the sneer and laughter of Ga'huld ringing in his ear.


	36. Chapter 36

Yay! A new chapter!

The Stompa is HERE!

Bugklaw, though he must and will die soon, is a brilliant tactician for an Ork. I am glad that I've created him.

However, I think I will have the Overmind personally kill the great Warboss using the first body of the Overmind.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 36<strong>

The thing is, about half the crap I fed to Judanus through Alena was a bluff. In truth, I really didn't want Judanus to flee through his Warp Portal, particularly because I cannot stop it. Whether I had mentioned the method of escape or not, it was obvious that Judanus would flee through the Warp when I take over the planet and crush his armies. However, I had hoped to provoke his pride enough to consider it cowardice to flee before an enemy. It was a little reverse-psychology stuff that a Tzeentchian servant would see through easily, but I was hoping that with all the things going around him, Judanus would be too distracted to notice. This also coincided with my, through Alena, taking over of the Kingdom. Using the Kingdom, I would continue to distract Judanus, and weaken the two realms at the same time. Making him an offer was also to distract him. He would be thinking about my Swarm and everything that he doesn't know about us. He would be worried, and with my bluff about a million creatures poised against the West, he would be distracted.

Also, I cannot 'devour' the Warp Storm, no matter how much I am salivating over the massive amount of concentrated psychic energy contained within the Warp Storm. I could slowly drain it, yes, but not 'devour' it whole, because obviously the Warp Storm is 'currently' bigger than me. I will become bigger as the Swarm grows but not yet. This was another bluff to both disorient Judanus and to give him a vague threat and warning. By exaggerating my powers and how I could devour the Warp Storm, he would gain a false understanding that the Swarm has a great power over the Warp, which could theoretically mean that I could stop his escape. It was a big bluff that meshed with the subtle indication about how the Swarm is so powerful that we didn't care if he took the coward's path and escaped. It was a complex trap that I hoped that any logical being would fall into. Of course, it was far too late when I remember that creatures of Chaos are not really into the whole thing about sanity.

In any case, I really hoped that Judanus bought my bluff and provocation. Alena was ordered to deliberately goad Judanus, and through which I would get the bodies of the Space Marines, and now that I even had a soul of a Space Marine, I could extract as much information as I wanted from it. All I needed from the Space Marines now was their physiology. The spiel about how I could conquer the West with a million creatures was also a bluff. Most of mobile forces not on a wary watch against the Orks were dispatched westward, conquering rest of this big planet. It took months to get there in sufficient numbers, so it would take months to get them back. In order to fix this issue, I've been working on underwater Nydus Worms, because ferrying a million Zerglings plus thousands of other creatures with Overlords is just so exhaustingly slow. I still had about five million Zerglings and three hundred thousand upper-level creatures all along the eastern coast of my domain, watching out for any Ork attempt to cross the sea and land their Stompa. Also, I still had about five million creatures in my mainland, and a half million creatures in various hiding places within the Kingdom, and a hundred thousand creatures on the West coast. In truth, I could overwhelm the Kingdom and the Chaos, but it would not be without serious consequences.

All the death of humans would be a serious incentive for daemons to enter the fray. By 'giving' the West to Judanus, I had constructed a frame within which Judanus would act but not beyond it. If I was Judanus I would have called for many more legions of Chaos Marines to finish off the Kingdom quickly and deal with the Loyalists and the Swarm afterward. Killing and sacrificing the millions within the Kingdom proper would have gained him a lot of favor from his Dark Gods. He was simply too foolish to see it. By trapping Judanus in this trap of the mind, I have successfully cut off Judanus from the avenue of recruiting more Chaos Marines. He would save up his sacrificial slaves for an escape plan rather than summoning more Chaos forces, and yet he would not be able to flee because of his pride. Of course, I had to modulate my pressures on him because cornering him would make him flee. I had to wait to pounce at that moment when he would be unable to flee. I could kill him now, but then there is that Khornate Apothecary Lilgath. To me, he seemed a little more unstable than Judanus. At least Judanus had a plan, but Lilgath, though he tries to hide it from Judanus, has no purpose or a plan or a scheme save for the murders and spilling of blood. That was infinitely more dangerous, and as long as Judanus is around, Lilgath would not take reign.

Seriously, that Lilgath guy looks ready to break open the barrier of the Warp Storm and let loose the millions of daemons who are clawing the wall just to get on to this planet. I could not have that… yet.

* * *

><p>Judanus, though powerful and posing a greater potential threat, was still less of a threat at that moment compared to the Orks and the bloody annoying git that was the Warboss Bugklaw. The Orks have been mining hard within their islands, and they are slowly reproducing some of the weapons that were lost during their war against my Swarm.<p>

Though my Overlords and Overseers were yet to find any tanks, they found an influx of about a thousand bikes, and several hundred Warbuggys & Wartrakks as well as many Wartruks among the Orks. Still, their last invasion of the Prideland had caused a severe lack of higher-level armored vehicles among the Ork tribes, and while Bugklaw was still the mightiest of the Warbosses, there were at least a dozen challenges laid upon Bugklaw after his defeat in the Prideland. Bugklaw had to spent time and effort suppressing those rebellions while building his Stompa as well as naval vessels and armored vehicles.

This had caused severe shortage of personal armament of the Ork Boyz. Requiring more weapons, some Boyz even turned back into their feral state and armed themselves with crude axes made of a bit of metal piece tied around a wooden stick with ropes. The mistake of Bugklaw was so obvious to me. He was so focused on building bigger vehicles and the Stompa that his Boyz were getting armed with progressively weaker weapons. If this continued, Bugklaw would invade me with his Stompa and tanks but his Boyz would be torn apart my Zerglings.

Fortunately, the Stompa was still some time away from completion and even when complete, I was sure that it would not be able to cross the ocean.

So, leaving Elric to watch over the Orks just in case I turned my attention to the deal I have made with Judanus. Of course, this was a ridiculous idea. I already controlled the Kingdom, and I had already laid a foundation with which I could execute this plan.

* * *

><p>My Zerglings were let loose in the Kingdom's South and the fringes of the Central. Small empty villages were raised to the ground, and everything and everyone in those villages were destroyed. Still, most of the population remained within the walled cities and towns and castles. These towns and cities and castles hurriedly sent out request for reinforcement, but the Queen, being Alena, did not answer them, but instead, ordered them to raise more men to use as militia. The Kingdom, despite sending a million men to the war, was still full of people.<p>

By the law of the land, of every ten households, one adult male must be given to the King/Queen as a part of his/her professional army, another one for the local Lord at or above the title of the Count, and one for the local Lord whose demesne the households were located. Also another one man was considered as a reserve for the Royal house, and must join training in sword and spears or bows once every ten days. Another was considered a man for local militia who could be drafted by the local Lord. So, ten households would provide the King with two men, two for local Lords, and one for militia. However, Alena had changed this ancient law.

Although Alena was a powerful figure as the Queen of the Kingdom, she technically only controlled two fifth of the Kingdom's total military power. With the South now completely gone off the reservation and the local lords drafting as many men as possibly to stave off death by Zerg, the Royal powers did not reach the massive population of the South.

The West was already in turmoil from the rebelling of the Duke of Verin and the invasion of Zerg along the coast. The North and its open rebellion was the reason for the draft. This had meant that the Queen's Army and the soldiers she drafted were only from the Central and the East. The East was the most fertile region of them all. Fed by many rivers and the silts, good climate and good rainfall, protected from storms by a small chain of islands far off the coast, the East was a paradise compared to frozen land like the North, or the stormy and dry land of the West or the mountainous land of the Central, or the politically nightmarish land of the South.

East, by far, had the most population and the Central, though much of its land was mountains and hills, was rich in minerals and hardy men. It is from these two regions that Queen's Army was raised. Given the dire situation, Alena modified the law and drafted one additional man from ten households, which was unheard of. She drafted the men who were dedicated to the formation of militia, and by driving the population into the towns and cities; she had made the local Lords to use their own troops to defend the people.

Therefore, the nine hundred fifty thousand men Alena drafted for her new army was one fifths of all adult males of the Central and the East. That showed how many people were in the Kingdom. In the Central and the East alone had a presumably 4.75 million adult males, with almost equal number of adult females, and counting in children and old people, the population of the two regions was well over 14 million people, and defended by around nine hundred thousand soldiers that belonged to the local Lord.

Even though my Zerglings were so numerous, nine hundred thousand soldiers, with potentially two million adult males turning to militia, defending their homes from behind thick walls and high towers, was not an easy obstacle to tackle without a thought. Besides, there was still the northern half of the South under human control. From Alena and other infested nobles, I could gather than in the last census of the Kingdom, done only a decade before my arrival, the South had a population about half the size of the Central and the East combined, with over 70% of the population living in the northern half of the South. I had calculated that I am facing a population of about 5 million humans, among which about half the adult males, nearly eight hundred thousand, were soldiers and ready to defend their homes.

Also, these areas were not dominated by the central authorities, which means that blacksmiths and weapon-smiths were not drafted either. My plans of weakening the Central and the East worked because Alena was the Queen and she controlled the regions. The South was going to cost me some Zerglings.

It wasn't that the West was a complete pushover either.

Hargen had devastated and controlled an area size of the state of Florida, the southern coasts of the West was a barren land compared to the rest of the kingdom. The dry hot weather along with sand-like soil had left only small bits of land being capable of agriculture, and the population was low compared to other provinces within the region let alone compared to other regions.

My forces now readied themselves across a rapid river flowing from the vast mountains of the Central. The rest of the West, was still very strong. The northern three quarters of the West had many mountains like the Central while cold like the North despite being as fertile as the East. These conflicting elements had made its people sturdy and hardy, and using the various mineral resources of their land, the soldiers of these lands were strong and well-armed.

Duke of Verin ruled the region, in a rebellion against the Queen, declaring his hatred for the Chaos forces residing in the North. Openly declaring his support for the Loyalist Space Marines, the Duke brought in the lesser Lord of the West under his banner. The Duke of Verin was the richest man in the Kingdom except for the Royal House, and Verin had both the grains and steel among his riches. With the help of the Techmarine, Verin's mines went into overdrive and mass produced steel weapons and armor and gunpowder weapons. Lesser lords sold their swords and spears to Verin in return for guns and cannons, and the Duke fortified the entire West all by himself.

Although this tied up much of the resource to support the Loyalist Space Marines and their campaign, it made the West much more formidable than Judanus had expected.

This was the primary reason that I offered 'the West' to Judanus. The Chaos Lord was an idiot, and he would most certainly assail the West with as much strength as he can spare since I promised to coax Alena's army south on the context of the Zerg invasion of the Kingdom. While invading the West, I suspect that the forces of Chaos would suffer grave attrition damage even though they would win. Even if Judanus gives up the West, I would then be able to invade the West when it is weakened. This was particularly important because I could not be sure how much damage the Swarm will suffer against a potential invasion by Bugklaw and his damnable Stompa.

* * *

><p>The Swarm invaded the Kingdom enmass.<p>

A million Zerglings marched north along with fifty thousand Roaches, ten thousand Hydralisks, a thousand Ultralisks and ten thousand Mutalisks. Other creatures of upper echelon were also involved, and they were all led by Volran as this campaign was as much about showing the enemy who we are as it was about conquering.

Volran had newly developed a Path of War that named the 'Path of Marching Doom'. It was a simple Path. It was all about shock and awe, using brute strength and numbers to push forward without looking back. In a stampede of a million Zerg creatures, nothing less than an equal firepower or number could withstand the impact. It was not a subtle Path, nor was it foolish. In this doctrine, the Ultralisks would take charge and they gain an ability to create the Overrun Effect, an aura that provoke reaction within Zerg creatures to move faster and fight more fiercely in melee, while extra layer of carapace would clad the creatures to protect them during the stampede.

While under the Overrun Effect Aura, a Zergling that would normally move like a big cat would change its gait into something that resembles the movements of a Pachycephalosaurus or a Stegoceras, the bone-headed dinosaurs who would charge against enemies. The Khaydarin Crystals within their bodies would artificially increase the mass of the creature and make them into a charging rhino. Roaches, too, would be directly influenced by the Overrun Effect Aura, while Hydralisks, while moving faster, would gain extra layer of carapace and favor melee combat instead of range attacks. The Ultralisks themselves would not be under the Overrun Effect since it is for the lesser creatures, but they would be in the 'Juggernaut Frenzied' state, an advanced state of their normally frenzied state. While in the 'Juggernaut Frenzied' state, the Ultralisks would be almost impossible to stop once they gained a certain momentum.

The 'Path of Marching Doom' was the reason that Volran had been chosen for this invasion, as this was very much a doctrine of shock and awe. With Hargen in the islands of the lesser human realms, and Alena in the Kingdom, and Elric keeping vigil over the ice bridge in the South Pole and the east coast, I really didn't have that much choice in the matter. Of course, it wasn't that Hargen or Elric was right for the invasion either. Hargen's 'Path of Swift Culling', a traditional hit-and-run mixed with some Zerg ingenuity, was a path that whittled down a superior enemy to a manageable size, and Elric's 'Path of Rising Demise' was a rather defensive or surprise attacks on small scales using Zerg's ability to burrow and burrow-move without being detected. Of course, Alena's 'Path of Storm' was highly psionic focused, so in my current plan to hide upper-level creatures, that Path was out of the question also. Thus, Volran was chosen to lead the Zerg forces with his unique personal combat doctrine.

Within the month, the entire region of South was under my control except for the towns, cities and few larger castles that managed to survive the initial wave of Zerg forces. My Zerglings infested the countryside, roaming around in small groups to hunt down anything that was not Zerg. Since Alena's influence did not reach this far south, there were many hundreds of villages and small castles and towns with low or no walls still populated by humans. They fell fast. The speed of the Zerglings were matched only by the fastest horses they had, but the horses were terrified of the Zerglings. Local Lords attempted to rally their troops to fight my creatures, but they could not resist the might of the Swarm.

Castles were quickly besieged, and Banelords, a variant of Ultralisks that fired Banelings, being the long range artillery of the Swarm, rained down Banelings upon the castles while Ultralisks became living rams and punctured through the gates. Smaller castles stood strong only until then. By the second month of the Zerg invasion, there were only a two score towns and cities and a handful of mighty castles remained within human control. Then, there was the problem of supplies. Filled with number of people that the walls were never designed to hold, the towns and cities began to suffer hunger. Vast storage houses of grains were soon showing signs of depletion and only the castles, being built for war, could withstand the long sieges. However, none of them realized that the protracted sieges were a feint to show to Judanus.

* * *

><p>In response to the Zerg invasion, the Queen Alena took action. She demanded that local Lords send additional men to the Queen's Army so that she may dispatch well-trained and well-armed soldiers to fight these 'xeno creatures'. Some complied, and some didn't, but in the end, Alena received nearly two hundred thousand men, all in various garbs of local Lords. She quickly armed them with weapons and set them through vigorous training. Then, she rerouted three hundred thousand soldiers from the northern front to to the southern front. Five hundred thousand soldiers were quickly dispatched along the rivers and hills and mountains that divided the South from the Central and the East. Fortifications of thick logs and dried mud were hastily erected along the border then they were slowly replaced by stones and mortar, though the stones were from nearby town walls and castle walls being disassembled by the order of the Queen.<p>

Of course, this was fine for me since the fortifications along the border meant very little to me. I had about half a million Zerg units all over the dark corners of the Central and the East. Unexplored mountains, dark swamps, valleys filled with poisonous plants and abandoned mines were all infested with Zerg. The Kingdom may have noticed a great drop in the number of bandits and brigands on their roads, but that was not a result of the Kingdom's patrols, but my Zerg taking over their dens and devouring their criminal flesh. These Zerg were those who were cast out after I first introduced tiny shards of Khaydarin Crystals in every Zerg creature. They settled within the Kingdom and took a long and painful and slow process of forcing Khaydarin Crystals into their mature bodies. Now, they were like the rest of the Swarm, and new creatures from those colonies were born with crystal shards.

* * *

><p>Judanus was obviously pleased that we kept up our end of the bargain. He summoned another fifty Chaos Marines and dispatched half to the southern front against the Kingdom and the other half against the West and the Loyalists. Judanus relentlessly drove back the Loyalists back to the realm of the West, only to meet fierce resistance that they did not expect. Of course, it was fierce but not unbreakable. The southern front, where the forces of Chaos were being killed by thousands against the 1.3 million strong enemy army with strangely powerful sword and revolvers with big bullets. Though the appearances of Chaos Marines had brought massive advantage, the lack of armored units had meant that even Chaos Marines could be swarmed over by the humans, shot by 250 gunners firing revolver rifles with bullets as big as bolter rounds with steel tips carved like screws. Even the Power Armors of Chaos Marines were not infallible. The bullets of the human gunners literally drilled into the armor while the officers aimed for eyes and soft bits of the armor.<p>

There were issues with cannons too. When new cannons looked like giant revolvers and fired explosive shells, the casualty rate of Chaos Marines rose sharply, and being few in number, even the loss of one Chaos Marine was a significant loss. Judanus sought to change this by sending his Chaos-corrupted Servitors armed with heavy weapons in the Tower. That drove back the humans for a week or so. Heavy Bolters, Plasma Cannons, Power Fists and Chain Swords on Servitors who looked like a fusion of daemon and man and machine really freaked out the humans for a week before they brought in countermeasures. New guns were introduced to the Gunners. Long rifles with very powerful bullets with amethyst cores were added with scope and iron-sight. These sharpshooters aimed solely for the Servitors and their heads. The power of psionically infused amethyst core in the bullets allowed piercing of the metal plated skulls of the Servitors with warp-mutation, then caused by a direct encounter between the psionic energy within the amethyst and the warp energy within the Servitors, the bullets exploded, shattering the skulls of the Servitors. Of course, Judanus never knew that we supplied the psionic energy in the amethyst cores.

* * *

><p>Time passed. Then, seven months after the initial invasion of the Zerg, and the entire planet was embroiled in war. Judanus and conquered a large chunk of the West, finally reaching the mighty Citdadel of Verin and had besieged it for a month with no end in sight as the House of Verin and their loyal Imperial Guards fought back with scores of heavy weapons passed down through generations and repaired by the Techmarine. Against a dozen Heavy Bolters, several Autocannons, a couple of Lascannons and single Plasma Cannon, along with three thousand Lasgun-armed Guardsmen and two hundred gunpower cannons, the Chaos forces could not breach the four-walled citadel of the Duke. Then there was the destruction of the Predator Tank, by a most glorious sacrifice of the Assault Marine Kleine, who assailed the Predator Tank with a team of Verin's Knights and used eight melta grenades to destroy the tank. The knights had all perished in the ensuing firefight but Kleine was captured by Judanus, and was handed over to the Swarm.<p>

The invasion by my creatures was also going well. Though Volran was ordered not to actually break through the defense line set up by the humans, the five hundred thousand Zerg creatures pouring out from every crevices and dark dank holes across the entire Kingdom was enough to drive the whole of the human realm into a panicked overdrive. Towns and cities and large castles were constantly besieged while the countrysides were raided and ransacked by my Zerg, and when humans attempted to strike back, my forces would melt away back into the ground and appear out of somewhere they did not expect. Particularly, the Central suffered greatly.

Being a mountainous region, the people were hardy and was used to isolation. They also built castles to withstand long sieges. That would have been good against human attackers or even Orks or Chaos, but against the Zerg, that only meant that the towns and cities and castles were utterly isolated. One by one, the towns, being the smallest, fell to my hands.

Then something surprising happened.

* * *

><p>Suddenly, over the Ork islands, my Overlords and Overseers were hunted and killed by Deffkoptas. I realized that Bugklaw was on the move. I checked that the ice bridge, despite my efforts was built and was strong. I quickly moved Elric and his forces to the south pole, hoping to delay the Stompa and the millions of Orks that were surely coming that way. What came next was really surprising.<p>

A small Ork fleet arrived on the coast of the East, right smack in the middle of the Kingdom. The human Kingdom actually had a large fleet stuck in ports since the war was on land. There were about two dozen large warships on patrol, but as the Chaos did not utilize naval warfare, they were merely precautionary measure. Besides, the sailor had been drafted into the King's Army long before Alena took reign. The humans had somehow redeveloped ships very similar to 'ship of the line' with broadside cannons. During the height of their power, the Kingdom had amassed an impressive fleet that prepared to attack the Orks in their own islands. That time was shortly before Judanus attacked the Kingdom. The reason that the King had so many soldiers ready for war was that he was readying to fight the Orks in the first place.

Now, most of those ships were docked in ports, their cannons being slowly rusted away as the Kingdom's attention focused solely on the war against the Chaos. It was in such state that the Orks arrived in their metallic ships. Though crudely similar to their space-bound vessels, these Orks 'naval' ships still packed far more firepower than their human counterparts. As the Ork Kannons fired so randomly, the humans ships quickly lined up to fire their broadside 24-pounder long guns. The problem was that Orks ships were bigger, better armored and had a lot of Kannons. The humans ships fired in return but they barely made dents on the Ork ships when Orks ships began to fire toward the human ships. The Kannons fired in such rate and range and randomess that human ships were quickly destroyed.

Seeing this strange move by the Orks through the nearest Overseer, I quickly dispatched my own naval creature to eliminate the Ork ships, since I really didn't want any surprises. I was a little too late. That particular port was quickly raised to the ground as the dozen Ork ships fired everything they had into the city and the docks. Then after an hour of shelling the city, the Ork ships began to spew forth Ork Boyz and Gretchens. By the time my naval creatures arrive at the scene sunk the crude Ork ships, nearly nine thousand Orks had landed and fortified the city, slaughtering the humans inside the walls.

Now, if that was the end, I would have been lucky.

I was not lucky.

As I was watching the Ork-infested port city, the Orks began to do something strange. Then something big happened.

* * *

><p>The Stompa happened.<p>

Apparently, the Orks had installed a series of their 'tellyporta' receiver beacons, and they 'teleported' the damned Stompa right in the middle of a human city along with thousands of Orks.

Of course, later I remembered something from Dawn of War 2: Retribution about 'tellyporta' but it was a surprise when I faced that 'teleporting of a Stompa'-event. It was not a pleasant surprise.

I had majority of my forces so far from the East that it was not even funny and I was not about to appreciate how that damnable Ork could outmaneuver me, the Overmind of the Zerg. Of course, it was much later that I realized that expecting any logical movement from an Ork or an insane Chaos worshiper was simply ridiculous.

I really didn't expect the Stompa there!

Suddenly, the war changed.

The Orks quickly spread out along coast, taking over a dozen port cities and towns, and so wisely spread out their 'tellyporta' beacons. Then they began to teleport Orks on to the mainland. Within days, Orks had thousands of Boyz out there, and within the first week, the Orks built up crude defenses around their strongholds. By the second week, the entire coast of the East was crawling with over a hundred thousand Orks and their many vehicles. The Stompa, the key issue in all this, had moved out from the first city, and had obliterated two towns, flattened four villages and was heading to one of the large castles. The human defenders were at a loss as to 'how' to fight a massive Ork monster/vehicle.

Actually, even I was at loss. My Titan was still a month away from completion, and if I wait a month, that monstrosity would destroy the entire East, and my plans involving the Kingdom would go out the window. As for Elric and the majority of my forces he took with him, they would arrive in the East in two weeks after a non-stop race to reach the end. I quickly prepared as many Nydus Network to quicken the pace, but it would still leave the Stompa and the Orks roam free for a week and a bit more. I really didn't savor idea.


	37. Chapter 37

Well, it's another chapter!

We finally have all the ground units for the Zerg forces laid out! For the foreseeable future, I'm gonna use these units only in terms of ground combat.

Chapter progress for the Stargate Galactic Imperium: The next chapter is about 40% done, and I am about to start writing about GEK vs VK Round 1... where Laemis gets kidnapped.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 37<strong>

Okay, I wasn't really happy with the idea of Orks rampaging across the main continent especially if they are being poured out through teleportation directly from the islands. By the time that Elric had arrived at the Zerg mainland, the Orks had swelled their numbers to half a million and growing. There were at least a dozen Squiggoths and about a hundred tanks, though their qualities were much lower than normally looted tanks. Orks were truly masters of salvage but only a mediocre inventors. The real problem was obviously the Stompa. Though the local Lords of the East tried to fight back using the various weapons that were inherited down through generations, the Stompa could not be stopped. Indeed a single Autocannon mounted on top of a castle battlement could have deterred a handful of Ork Boyz from approaching the castle, but it barely scratched the surface of the Stompa's armor. There were a couple of Lascannons hidden away by the descendants of Imperial Guard's heavy weapons teams, but they were also easily cast aside by the rampaging Stompa and the Waaagh! that closely followed behind the monster machine.

I must say, however, the Stompa is a really a well-built for its purpose. It was simply brimming with weapons. Its huge body contained four balcony windows from which Lootas and their Deffguns aimed down at the infantry while the huge Supa-gatler and the Deth Kannon caused some serious damage to the castles and walls. On its shoulders were two gun emplacements surrounded by spiky metal bits where a dozen Tankbustas fired their crude Rokkits. Moreoever, on the top of the Stompa's head was a fearsome weapon clearly salvaged from the fallen Imperial starship. It was the turret of a Manticore, with all the missiles painted red by the Orks. This turrent was manned by Orks with Big Shoota and extra Ork Rokkits that would replenish the spent missiles. Though I suspect that the great Ork was waiting for my units to fire those particularly dangerous missiles. The worst thing about that Stompa was the Lance cannon protruding from the middle of its belly. Obviously taken from a Lance Battery of the Imperial ship, this single barrel fired a devastating beam that literally obliterated a large hole through one of the major castles in the East. Though it only ever fired the weapon once, it was enough to see its power. I had to step in but without a Titan of my own, it would be a folly to... wait... I think... I think I have something.

Indeed, I had a weapon that could take on the Stompa if used correctly. What I needed was a big enough creature to fight the Stompa and make some damages. Even though psionic beings like Alena could cause some damage, the Stompa was simply too big and too well protected by the Waaagh! energy that my senses could see as a cloud of red mist. I was despairing whether I should throw my lesser units at the Stompa to delay it until my Titans were ready, but I remembered that there is one creature that is almost at completion and is big enough to cause some serious damage to the Stompa.

It was my first BODY!

* * *

><p>The huge egg was pulsating. It was merely days before it would fully mature, and I was going to keep it in suspended state, but now I was going to wake it and possess it. Ultimately, this creature was unique in that it was empty of mind. Only the autonomous functions and basic defensive reactions would function, meaning that it would breathe, eat and kill. However, it is an incredibly powerful creature in both physical prowess and psionic capability. Standing at nearly 7.5 meters, the creature was basically designed to fight something around the size of Greater Daemons or the Swarm Lord. However, it would do quite well against the 14m tall Stompa. Physically, it did not look so powerful, at least on the first glance. This was a ruse to keep the creature from wasting its energies. In its erect form, it would look somewhat like the Evangelion Unit 1 in terms of heightened shoulders and long human-like arms and legs. However, it had a second pair of arms, and elongated head like Frieza's second transformation as well as long spiked tail a little like the stegosaurus, though the spikes were far more numerous. On its back, there was a pair of boney wings, somewhat like the wings of Kerrigan, just because I liked her wings. However, these wings were not really for show only. They were really wings but more like appendages with three sharp talons protruding from them. The similarity ended with Kerrigan's wings was the way it folded. It was neither boney or so hollow in its formation. It was thickly muscled and clad in carapace and chitin, and the talons on its end were very sharp and crackling and glowing with powerful psionic energy. Of course, the wings were not the only melee weapons on my new body. The second pair of arms had a talon that can be stored in the forearm, very much like Alena's own melee weapons. These would glow with the Power of the Void, just as the Dark Templars used them, just a lot more powerful. The primary pair of hands were human-like but the fingertip were clawed, and they crackled with disruptive energies, which would allow me to tear through enemy armor and shield with surprising ease.<p>

The psionic powers of my new body was also impressive. It needed to have strong psionic capability since it would house my consciousness and channel my incredible power. Certainly, the creature was still too fragile to contain my whole consciousness or my entire power. If I did so, the creature would disintegrate within a moment. However, even with a small fragment of my consciousness and power, it would still be so powerful as to take on a Stompa by itself. Eventually, however, I would upgrade the body or make completely new designs. For now, this creature would do. It had a single Pylon-sized Khaydarin Crystal in its chest that supplied incredible amount of psionic energy as well as protecting the creature from psychic attacks by absorbing the psychic power and converting it into psionic form. The hands also had Khaydarin Crystals, allowing Warp Blades and disruptive energy on claws even if the primary Crystal was drained. In its elongated head was another rather large Crystal, and this Crystal was for the offensive psionic powers only. While the primary Crystal would power the incredible amount of Hardened Plasma Shield as well as the use of Vortex, an ability of the Protoss Mothership that was reinvented for my body. The secondary Crystal in the head would power abilities such as Psionic Storm, Psionic Implosion and Summon Terror. The Psionic Implosion is an upgraded version of what Kerrigan used during her war against Jim Raynor. She would lift up a single vehicle into the air and made them explode. That was nice but weak. My Psionic Implosion was an area of effect ability that would lift up anything in a small area and implode them. As for Summon Terror, it was actually use of Protoss technology imbedded in my creature. I could summon a dozen Terrors, very special creatures that I have designed as bodyguards for my new body. Using the Warp-In technology of the Protoss Warp Gate, I could summon the Terrors from the Primary Hive Cluster. Not that my new body needed bodyguards, but it is good to have support to clear away lesser enemies while I engage the big ones.

Terrors, a strand of special Zerg creatures, was a completely new design thus far. Just as Hive Tyrants of Tyranids have Tyrant Guards, I wanted bodyguard creatures, and if they prove viable, I would replace Hunter Killers in protecting my commanders. Terrors were not cumbersome heavy creatures like the Tyrant Guards, but they are not fragile cannon fodders either. They were intelligent and dedicated warrior-strand with incredible power and strong protective instinct. They are about as big as Ork Nobz or Tyranid Warriors, and they bear somewhat of humanoid form, unlike the Hunter Killers. Their legs are thick and strong, designed to block the charge of enemy tanks with the strength of their legs. Their four arms are heavily muscles and their hands are massive. Their massive hands end with long and broad claws sheathed in psionic energy. They are also one of the few creatures in the Zerg Swarm that uses 'tools' instead of biomorphic growths. Though protected by thick carapace, they also have metal armor plating imbedded into their bodies, and in their hands are powerful melee weapons made from the same yellow Protoss metal that the armors are made of. A huge axe, a large hammer or terrible spiked flail would be in their hands and each strike would bring death to the enemies. These weapons, however, were not entirely mechanic, since the symbiotic creature inside each weapon would connect with the Terror and be fed psionic energy to maginify the destructive powers. Moreover, the incredible shield strength and powerful regeneration would make the Terrors extremely difficult to kill. Also, they were mixed a little with Hybrids, allowing them to become more powerful than any Zerg creature so far. With broad chest and shoulders hiding a pair of spine-shooting mechanism, they are capable of ranged combat, but they mainly focus in melee combat, thus they are armed with melee weapons.

With a dozen Terrors, there is nothing that could disrupt me when I face off with the Stompa.

Hey, maybe I can even kill that annoying Warboss too.

* * *

><p>"I luv my dakka!"<p>

!

The crude bullets flying out from a Deffgun showered the humans fleeing from the terror of the Stompa. The Loota roared with laughter as he let loose another barrage at the puny humans. His name was Bullitbiter the Loota, and he really liked killing humans with his very loud Deffgun. He loved how the bullets pierced the humans with little red hole on one side and larger holes on the other side. Besides, the Orks haven't had any decent fighting in a while, and the Warboss forbade Orks fighting each other during their attack of the human lands. This Loota didn't really like the idea but he wasn't about to challenge the Warboss.

"Only humies... 'save ya fightin' fer the bugz' he sayz. Dere ain't no bugz 'ere but humies."

Then he saw something. He was standing on one of the four balconies, and it gave him a good view.

"Hey boyz!"

Other Lootas on other balconies looked at him.

"Wot?"

"U boyz see dat?"

"Huh?"

On the horizon, there was a long line of dust cloud approaching towards the Orks.

"Wots dat?"

"I dunno."

Then something flew at Bullitbiter, and it was sheer luck that the Ork Loota evaded strange ball with three white tentacles spinning at high speed. The ball was excreting acid and it pierced one of the armor pieces that protected the balcony only to reverse its direction and bounce upward toward the Ork. Bullitbiter swung his large Deffgun and the acid-spewing ball was knocked aside only to bounce off the armored hull of the Stompa and falling down over the balcony.

"Wot was dat! Strange fing!"

"Hey! It's da BUGZ!"

Bullitbiter looked up at the shouting and saw at least twenty Mutalists swarming over the Stompa. The Ork's face was quickly filled with toothed smile.

"It's time fer WAAAGH!"

The other three Lootas roared in agreement. Bullitbiter turned around and looked two Gretchins holding spanners and trying to tighten some screws.

"Gretchens! Go call some Shoota Boyz up 'ere wid Big Shootas!"

"Okay, boss! Whatever you say!"

Turning around, Bullitbiter turned his guns upward.

"WAAAGH!"

!

With strange whistling sounds, three more Glaive Wurms struck the Stompa, but they failed to strike the Lootas protected by the armor plating on the balconies. Instead of killing the Lootas, the Lootas were firing so many dakka into the sky that two Mutalisks were torn to shreds within moments. Then more Mutalisks arrived with some Gattlisks. Suddenly, the Stompa was busy with Ork Shootas and Lootas climbing on to some flat bits and shooting their guns up at the Mutalisks while the Zerg fliers, now numbering nearly a hundred, began to send down their own ordiance against the Orks.

"More DAKKA!"

Bullitbiter roared as he grabbed a long belt of bullets from the hands of three Gretchens carrying it and shoved it into his Deffgun.

"Where ar me Shoota Boyz! I want more dakka!"

"We'z 'ere Loota Boy! Let's Waaagh!"

"WAAAGH!"

Two Shoota Boyz with Big Shoota appeared from behind the Loota and positioned themselves next to the Loota and fired at the Mutalisks. Then something else came.

Screech~! Screech~! Screech~!

A dozen small white-colored fliers flung themselves at the Stompa, fulling intending to ram the big vehicle. They were Zerg Scourges, and though the Orks didn't know what Scourges were or what they could do, they fired their guns at the smaller ones anyway. Being much more fragile than Mutalisks, the Scourges died, but two made through the field of bullets and crashed into the Stompa. One Scourge hit one of the balconies and the explosion made from the Scourge's chemicals was enough to blast apart the Loota, three Shoota Boyz and a Gretchen, as well as turning that window into a large charred hole. The other Scourge also hit the Stompa, but the armor plating was just enough withstand the attack, though the hole was quite large. Unfortunately for the Swarm, the Ork vehicles are surprising sturdy, and their functions could not be disrupted by few Scourges.

"Wot! 'splosive bugz? Boyz! Shoot 'em down!"

"More dakka! I loves it!"

As the minutes passed, there were more Mutalisks despite the scores of them falling from the sky against heavy anti-air capability of the Stompa as well as the Lootas, Shootas and Tankbustas on the ground firing their own weapons into their air. It was not just the Mutalisks that arrived, however. A hundred thousand Zerglings followed by five thousand other Zerg creatures had arrived to strike at the Stompa and the Orks below the monstrous machine's feet. The battle was truly massive. Forty thousand Ork Boyz and the Stompa clashed against the Swarm. Slugga Boyz and Zerglings hacked at each other with their choppas and claws, while Hydralisks and Roaches fought the Shoota Boyz. Ultralisks stomped their way through ranks of Orks while Tankbustas rained down rokkits in such numbers as to drown out the roars of the Ultralisks being torn apart by the crude Orks missiles. Ork Nobz, unable to find any creature to match their size or the ferocity, swung their terrible melee weapons and waved through the battlefield in a haze of battle-lust. Yet, even they had met their match in Infesters. Scores of Infesters, being much more powerful than those under Kerrigan, used their Neural Parasite from beneath the ground. They also sprayed Fungal Growth over the Orks, holding them in place while the mind-controlled Nobz suddenly turned on their comrades. Of course, the Orks did not care as long as there were plenty of fighting to go around. Soon, Looted Tanks were moving back and forth, crushing the Zerglings under their wheels while firing their guns, and as their counterparts, Omegalisks stomped their way around the battlefield, killing Orks with their savage feet or with their terrifying hooks.

* * *

><p>The battle raged as more Orks, sensing the great battle from the distance, joined the Stompa against my Swarm. Of course, I sent more units there. I needed the Orks to be there, stuck in a battle for one more day, and I was perfectly willing to sacrifice millions of Zerglings to keep them occupied for a whole day. Four streams of fifty thousand Zerglings each turned their marching direction and bypassed the human defenses just to get to the battlefield. They ran for hours and immediately joined the fray, while thousands of Roaches, Hydralisks and other more powerful creatures were delivered by Overlords or through Nydus Worms. Then Volran sent his Ultralisk variants. A thousand Ultralisks, two hundred Banelords, thirty Omegalisks charged headlong into the ranks of Ork Looted Tanks, Wartrucks full of Boyz, Wartraks with their rokkits and a dozen Squiggoths. Their battles were titanic and the devastation reached the lesser creatures as well. As tanks exploded, scores of Ork Boyz and Zerglings were turned to ashed in the fires of the tank's generator exploding, and Ultralisks that had been mauled and murdered by a Squiggoth would spit out scores of Broodlings that would eat away at the Squiggoth's foot, dropping the monstrous creatures on top of the Orks and Zerg. The Hargen sent his fliers. Escorted by many hundred Mutalisks and Gattlisks, scores of Broodlords, Guardians, Corruptors and Devourers swarmed over the enemy, only to be countered by over a hundred Deffkoptas and Fightas as well as the devastating missile barrage from the Stompa's head.<p>

The worst damage was caused by the Stompa itself. Every time, just as my Swarm managed to get ahead, the Stompa would turn the tide of battle once more. When my reinforcements of Zerglings came and overwhelmed the Boyz, Bugklaw appeared on top of the Stompa's head and let out a guttural roar, and the Stompa pointed its Deth Kannon and Supa-gatler at my Zerglings still streaming in by the thousands. The rain of destruction was too horrible to mention. By the time the Supa-gatler had finished firing, over a ten thousand Zerglings were killed by that gun alone while the Deth Kannon also scored well over a thousand Zerglings. Then when my Ultralisks came and destroyed many vehicles and Squiggoths, the Stompa turned the battle around once more, pointing and firing its barrel of the Lance battery. The powerful beam created an elongated crater where nearly half the newly arrived Ultralisks were turned to ashes along with many Zergs and Orks. Even when the fliers came, the Manticore battery on its head fired deadly missiles that exploded in mid-air and spread so much burning hot shrapnel that even tough creatures like Guardians and Broodlords were torn to pieces. In order to delay the Orks once more, I sent in a wave of Overlords filled with Banelings. It rained green, but against the humungous size of the Stompa, few hundred Banelings could not do anything.

In the end, however, I got what I wanted. I had delayed the Orks for a day. Sure, I lost about two hundred thousands Zerglings, fifteen thousand other Zerg ground units and two thousand fliers of various kind, but it was worth it. The Ork forces, being attracted to the battle, had gathered around the Stompa, and that cleared away large areas that Orks had conquered.

* * *

><p>My forces had retreated from a day-long battle. They moved back for about nine hours when the Orks finally got over partying with squig pies and tankards of fungus beer. They really enjoyed their 'victory' not knowing that their victory was an illusion that I have created for them. They also didn't notice that their 'tellyporta' beacons had stopped sending reinforcements for a few hours by this stage. They had no idea that their island, full of Orks ready to invade the mainland, was under siege and was being devastated by my forces. Rains of Banelings, just like how I did it with one of the islands during the previous Orks invasion. It was that many of Splitterlings had left their lesser spawns during the last drop, and the island was now full of full-grown Banelings. I had noticed this very early, and though the Splitterlings were a relative failures compared to their spore-grown cousins, there were millions of them crawling all over that island, and the Orks had forgotten their previous staging ground. Of course, I had set up a new colony there soon after the Drop of Million Banelings, and there were about two dozen Nydus Worms connected to about fourteen islands, including two of the bigger islands. Not only did I send over two million Zerg units aboard Overlords, a dozen Patriarchs and Matriarchs led a sizable force across the ice bridge. Now, Elric had joined the main camp, though I immediately sent him and his personal host to the Eastern Coast to capture those Ork strongholds so that Bugklaw cannot fall back from this when it all falls apart for him. I pooled my units in preparation to end the great Ork and his Stompa once and for all.<p>

The great Ork had gathered to him a mighty host. He rode upon the Stompa itself, and inside the Stompa were a t least thirty Mega Armored Nobz within the vast holds of the Stompa. The Stompa itself was surrounded a squadron of forty or so Looted Tanks, and over seventy Orks vehicles of other kinds. Indeed, the Warboss must have pressed his most elite units into this campaign, and there were at least a dozen lesser Warbosses and nearly a thousand Nobz. Unfortunately for me, the lesser Warbosses were more like Mega Armored Nobz rather than real Warbosses, and there were no way that they would challenge Bugklaw during this campaign. Apart from these elite units, there were at least a thousand Mekboyz including several score Big Meks as well as many Weirdboyz. The Ork camp was also filled with at least two thousand Ork Biker Boyz on their crude warbikes. Then there were three hundred walkers ranging from Deff Dreads to Killa Kans, and not to forget, the forty Squiggoths were there among the Orks. Of course, nearly eight hundred thousand Ork Boyz of various kind were there too. Indeed, the Ork had truly gathered a massive army to himself.

However, by the time the Orks began moving again, I had finished my own preparations. Three million Zerglings had littered the fields and hills, and among those hiding were a hundred thousand Roaches and their variants. Hydralisks, too, were nearly one hundred thousand strong in number, but that was nothing compared to two thousand Ultralisks and their variants waiting for war. They were main forces, and specialists like a thousand Lurkers, sixteen hundred Infesters, four hundred Defilers, and a hundred Queens to work as synapse creatures. Overhead, nearly a hundred thousand Mutalisks swarmed around above the clouds, their numbers guarding five thousand strong fliers of upper echelon. With these numbers, the Orks were at a severe disadvantage, though they did not know it. It was truly an impressive force, but to make the Swarm stronger, were a few of the new Swarm's mightiest creatures. The Hybrids were also deployed in great numbers, though they were far more precious and costly than other creatures. Yet, they made excellent synapse creatures, even the Reavers. There were five Reaver Lords, the alpha among the one hundred Hybrid Reavers. They were clad, in parts, with Protoss metal for armor. Their heads, chest and legs were covered in burnished yellow, and they were larger than the Reavers, which were already larger than most Zerg creatures. Destroyers were there too, but there were only thirty of them.

The ground began to tremble at the marching of the Swarm. Like a carpet of red, purple, blue and orange, the three million Zerglings rushed toward the Orks. I sent everything, except for the Hybrids and some of the most elite units, against the Orks at once, wanting to overwhelm and surround the Orks. The Orks responded immediately at the sight of my forces. Looted Tanks fired their cannons and Lootas and Shoota Boyz fired their guns at the wave of Zerglings that filled the horizon. Yet, these three million Zerglings were not everything that I had placed on the field. From beneath the feet of the Orks, nearly three hundred thousand Zerglings and one hundred thousand Banelings exploded out from the ground to disrupt the Orks from stopping my main from encircling the Orks. The Banelings and Zerglings were of Elric's own brood, and they specialized in burrow-move, the ability which I used against the Orks in this battle. For nine hours, Elric's Zerglings and my Banelings had moved under the ground and waited for my order. Then, at this particular moment, they reappeared amid the Orks and caused incredible havoc. Even against the Looted Tanks, the Zerglings had climbed the tanks and began hacking away at the hatches, or killing the Ork in the turret seat.

Then the Stompa moved. With a great effort, the Stompa turned and lowered the single Lance and aimed it at the oncoming Zerg forces. With a great cracking sound of air suddenly heating up from the vast energy output of the Lance battery, a huge gash on earth has appeared, with a hundred thousand or more Zerglings turned into ashes and black smoke. However, the Lance was not really an anti-infantry weapon. As the great weapon cooled down, the Zerglings were upon the Orks. The Orks were still outnumbered by the Zerg forces three-to-one, and though the Orks fought hard, they were being slaughtered nonetheless. Zerglings were fighting the Orks in terrible frenzy; particularly because of three score Queen-variants. Hierarchs, Patriarchs and Matriarchs were powerful synapse creatures that emitted an aura of powerful psionic buffs, also, each of them were as powerful as an HQ units like Space Marine Captain or Hive Tyrant. This was shown as a Patriarch fired its beam weapon to turn a Looted Tank into a slag of molten metal, and a Matriarch tore a Nob into four pieces with her claws. My Swarm was winning. Though the Orks caught me by surprise when they teleported their Stompa, but I could easily overwhelm them with so many Zerg units.

Again and again, the Ork forces began to shrink against the Zerg units that utterly surrounded them. Though hundreds of thousands of Zerg creatures were killed also, there were simply too many of us for them to handle. A Flashgit would fire massive bullets and shred a dozen Zerglings into pieces only to be skewered by scores of spines fired from Hydralisks. A Nob swinging hammers and crushing both Zerglings and Roaches was quickly surrounded by a Hunter and five Hydralisks, and was cut, pierced and torn apart. A Looted Tank braved the Swarm and crushed several score of Zerglings and Roaches only to be flanked by an Ultralisk that severed the cannon's barrel then tore out the tank's engine, after which three Banelings crawled into the tank through the top hatch, turning the inside of the Looted Tank into a pool of green acid that had dissolved the Orks. A Deff Dread had managed to kill an Ultralisk at the cost of one of its arms, and was in the process of using its flamers built into its chest when a dozen Broodlings crashed into it. The Deff Dread toppled backward, its chest all mangled up. Once downed, the Deff Dread was torn apart by the sheer number of claws hacking away at it. Called by the Warboss, nearly two hundred Ork fliers arrived at the scene, including Fighta-Bommers, Fightas and Deffkoptas. Yet, they were immediately beset by thousands of Scourges crashing into them in big explosions. Without air-cover, the Orks became more and more desperate.

The only groups of Orks not losing quite so much were Biker Boyz and Stormboyz. They flitted this way and that way, evading as much claws as possible. However, even they were slowly being whittled down by copious amount of Hydralisk spines and fields of Lurker spines suddenly protruding out from the ground. As the first hour was passing, the Orks were already down to two-third of their original strength and it was falling fast. The only reason that the Orks were not entirely broken was the Stompa. The Stompa's massive and powerful weapons renewed the vigors of the Orks fight my forces. The Supa-gatler truly rained down ammunition down upon my units, tearing Zerglings, Roaches and Hydralisk into small pieces of meat. Of course, the Infesters responded by spraying vast amount of Fungal Growth at the joints of the Stompa's arms, delaying the machine as much as possible. Also, the Infesters sent forth legions of the Infested, the latest version of Infested Terran, but now looking more like bone-clad Space Marine firing bone-gun. The use of Infesters did not end there. Their Neural Parasites were so effective as well. The Nob leader of a squad of Slugga Boyz suddenly turning around and pummeling other Orks into a puree was a very powerful thing. The Orks responded to the Infesters by sending in their Weirdboyz to spew out Ork's psychic attacks. They were quite effective also, seeing how thousands of Zergs died in an intense fire of Psychic Vomit of Gork's Foot stomping on them. Infesters had a new ability that countered the Weirdboyz, however, and they used Feedback ability of the Protoss Templars against the Weirdboyz, making their heads explode every time they tried to use psychic power.

By the second hour, half the Ork forces were dead. Most of the vehicles and armored units were alive, but the Slugga Boyz and Shoota Boyz that made up the bulk of the Ork army was reduced to half, and the other half were also filled with many wounded. As the second hour was drawing to an end and the Swarm's air units were being torn asunder from the missile and rokkit attacks, the Hybrids finally entered the fray against Bugklaw. Bugklaw had been raging from within the Stompa, but he dared not leave the monstrous vehicle in case one of his elite Mega Armored Nobz took charge of the humungous machine and stomp the warboss. Now, such thoughts were beyond him as he was angered beyond measure. The Stompa opened fire once more with the Lance, wiping out two dozen Ultralisks along with several Squiggoths that the Ultralisks were attacking. The elongated crater was littered with black smudges that used to be Zerg or Ork, but Bugklaw didn't care that much. However, he still needed to turn the battle around. Even the Deth Kannon and Supa-gatler were not quite enough to frighten the 'bugs', and he knew that my Zergs did not retreat so easily. So, he had to send out his Mega Armored Nobz to lead the Nobz into frenzy. He ordered surviving lesser Warbosses, whose numbers now dwindled after being exclusively hunted by the Hunters, to rally the Nobz to charge through to the Hierarch Alpha, the largest of the Hierarchs. He didn't know that it was a fake and the Hierarch Alpha was but an oversized decoy.

As the Mega Armored Nobz charged toward the Hierarch Alpha, the Hybrids entered the fray. Led by the five Reaver Lords, Hybrid Reavers roared as they counter-charged against the Nobz. The battle was indeed titanic. Reavers were larger and more powerful as well as being protected by the Hardened Shield, but the Nobz were not weak and they the numbers. The claws and tentacles slashed and whipped about just as the chain axes, Power Klaws and 'Uge hammers were flung this way and that way. The shields flashed and hardened as Power Klaws of lesser Warbosses and Mega Armored Nobz slammed into them. Empowered by the hydraulics and pistons of their Mega Armor, the Nobz continued to slam impotently against the shield. Indeed, the inviolable power of the Plasma Shield was one of the biggest advantages that the Zerg had over the races of the Warhammer 40K galaxy. As long as the shield still had strength left, it was inviolable. There was no feedback from the shield. The Protoss, being weak-willed pacifists they were, did not fully utilize the potential of the shield. I did, and my version of their Plasma Shield was far superior. Unlike the Protoss, my shields didn't even let through concussion or gets removed by EMP. We were simply superior. Thus, the Ork Nobz slamming away with their crude weapons had only very little effect, particularly since the Reavers had Hardened Shield that greatly reduced incoming damages of certain caliber.

.

* * *

><p><strong><em>Codex: Zerg<em>**

**Ground Unit list**

Drone - Mega Drone

Changeling - Viraling - Spyling

Queen - Matriarch, Patriarch - Hierarach

Zergling - Raptor (Raptor Alpha)

Baneling - Gorgeling

Roach - Beetle, Smoker

Hydralisk - Lurker, Hunter, Slayer [pending]

Infester - Caretaker

Infested

Defiler

Ultralisk - Banelord, Omegalisk

Hybrid Destroyer - Hybrid Destroyer Lord

Hybrid Reaver - Hybrid Reaver Lord

Gigantes

Erebus

Aether

Terror

The Overmind [body]

**Air Unit list (so far)**

Overlord - Overseer - Hiveseer

Mutalisk - Gattlisk, Devourer, Guardian

Corruptor - Brood Lord

Scourge

Scourer


	38. Chapter 38

Yes, the new chapter is here!

There was a bit of snag with writer's block, but I got past it. However, this chapter is a lot less dramatic than I had in my head several months ago.

By the next chapter, however, we will finish off the Chaos, and then it's time to spread out into the galaxy at large.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 38<span>**

Finally, the rage and battle-lust of the Warboss boiled over beyond his fear of rebellion within the Stompa. Perhaps that was instigated by Nobz all leaving the Stompa to fight the Reavers. One of the Reavers, that had charged aheav and got itself surrounded by Nobz and Orks and Looted Tanks, was the target of the great Warboss. Two Mega Armored Nobz were smashing the shield with their Power Klaws and three Nobz were using 'Uge Hammers and Chian Axes while two Shoota Nobz were firing their Big Shootas at the Reaver. Not only that, two Looted Tanks were firing their cannons at the Hybrid. Although the Reaver's shield was formidable, it was not endless. The Reaver had already killed a Mega Armored Nob, two Nobz and eleven Slugga Boyz and one very unfortunate Gretchen that got stomped. All this fighting had almost depleted the Reaver's shield, and constantly struck by the Ork elites, the Reaver was angry.

Lashing out with rage, the Reaver skewered a Nob with its claw then flung the dead Ork crashing into the two Shoota Nobz who were knocked down by from having an Ork Nob's body of several hundred kilograms flying into them at high speed. Then, just as a Power Klaw of a Mega Armored Nob drained the last vestige of the Reaver's shield, the Reaver did a shoulder charge at that Nob before tearing the exposed head of the Nob out from its armored body. At the same time, the tentacles on the back of the Reaver's head shot out and pierced another Nob's eyes and nose, and tore through the brain. From looking at this, the Reaver was truly a mighty creature, even considering that these Orks were still far more primitive than their space-faring cousins.

It was at this moment that the great Ork joined in. Using the 'tellyporta' he was carrying, the Warboss appeared right in front of my Reaver. Now, the Reaver was a mighty creature reaching nearly 6m in height but the Warboss was mightier. The years of war against my Swarm as well as the constant battles for dominance against Orks that challenged his rule had made Bugklaw one big fucking Ork. Though his slouched form was only 5m in height, he would rise to nearly 6m when he stood up straight. In fact, he was so large that I really wondered how the Ork 'teknologee' had managed to squeeze the Warboss and the Nobz into the Stompa, which was wide but not really that tall enough to fit them in. Not only was the Warboss large and mighty in stature, he was clad from head to toe in scavenged Zerg body-parts. He was wearing a helmet made up of an Ultralisk's face studded with metal plates and sharp metal spikes. His Power Klaw was fitted with talons of hydralisks while his arms were covered in crude armor-sleeves made from Roches carapace bits. His elbows and knees were capped with grim skulls of Zerglings and his metal boots were studded with teeth of my Zerg units.

The moment after the great Warboss appeared, he swung his Power Klaw at the chest of the Hybrid Reaver. Normally, even a strike from a Power Klaw would do only a limited damage to the Reaver's chest protected by thick and hard carapace. This was evidenced by the attack of the last Mega Armored Nob that had surrounded this Reaver. The Nob's Power Klaw was strong but was not powerful enough to pierce beyond the outer most layer of the honey-comb structured carapace. The Warboss, however, was armed with a Power Klaw whose 'Klaw' part was the deadly talons of Hydralisks. Unwittingly, the Mekboyz had struck whole talons to the Power Klaw and stuck wires to them. Empowered by the Power Weapons technology of the Orks and affected by the shattered shards of the Khaydarin crystals at the base of the Hydralisk talons, the 'Klaw' became weapons capable of tearing through great thickness of heavy armor. Warboss's Power Klaw tore through the carapace with surprising ease and dark Hybrid blood gushed from the wound.

The Reaver roared in pain and by the blinding rage instilled within the creature by me. Yet, the assault of the Warboss was not over. Raising his double-barreled Dakkagun, he fired an entire clip into the gaping wound of the Reaver. The Reaver was still very much alive though. Two creature struck back at the Warboss but the Warboss blocked the attack with his Power Klaw and proceeded to grab an axe from his back and drove the blade of the axe into the Reaver's right shoulder. Then just as the Reaver stumbled, the Power Klaw did an uppercut, striking the Reaver's jaw with its crackling Klaws. The Reaver's jaw-bones cracked and crushed against the powerful for he Warboss's weapon. With a victorious roar, the Warboss pulled the Power Klaw back from where it was stuck in the Reaver's head, tearing out the Reaver's jaw before pusing his Dakkagun up at the Reaver's skull from underneath and pressing the trigger, and he let out a great roar of pleasure.

In that moment of triumphant shout, the Orks gained a temporary upper hand. They felt the immense psychic weight of the Waaagh! within their meager little souls, and they, uplifted by the exhilarating feeling of the Waaagh!, suddenly renewed their attacks with much greater vigor.

"Kill all da bugz!"

"It's time ta kill!"

"Waaagh!"

A Nob swung his 'Uge Hammer at the attacking Hydralisk, ignoring the searing pain of having a half dozen spines buried in his belly. The jagged metal bits protruding from the hammer pierced the Hydralisk carapace, not because they were sharp or encased in disruption field but because the Ork swung the hammer with such force that the carapace was simply torn through. Then, the Nob lifted up his hammer and swung down, finishing off the Hydralisk.

Next to the Nob killing the Hydralisk were three Slugga Boyz also fighting it out with another Hydralisk. One Slugga Boy fired his crude pistol at the Hydralisk just as the Zerg creature tore open a Slugga Boy with its talons. The third Boy had taken this opening, and he jumped the Hydralisk, slamming his crude but effective Choppa into the base of the Hydralisk's neck. Then as the Hydralisk roared in pain and raised its torso, the first Slugga Boy charged in and slammed a chain-choppa into the softer part just below the thick rib-cages The Hydralisk died, still screeching and roaring.

It was not just the Hydralisks that were suffering the renewed attack from the Orks. A Beetle, a variant of Roach with superior defensive carapace, had found itself surrounded by a Nob and a Mega Armored Nob. Though the Mega Armored Nob was separated from his original group and was somewhat wounded in battles against Hybrid Reavers, it was still a deadly and potent opponent. Just as the Nob slammed down his Big Choppa (Chain Axe variety), and as the whirring teeth of the Big Choppa broke the Beetle's axe-like talons, the Mega Armored Nob struck. The Mega Armored Nob was armed with a twin-barrel Big Shoota and a Power Klaw. The sheer firing rate of the Big Shoota burst through the thick and hard carapace protecting the Beetle's head, killing it.

The . roared in gleeful joy of the kill, and proceeded to kill some more of the 'Bugz'. He turned around and sprayed the area with his bullets, and while the terrible accuracy of the gun and the aim, the bullets showered three Zerglings along with a Shoota Boy. They all died in that hail of Ork bullets that simply did not care that an Ork died along with the Zerglings. The M. was just happy that it killed some more. Once he was done firing his gun, he swiftly turned around and reached forth with his Power Klaw. His deadly melee weapon managed to grab the head of a Hydralisk about to strike down at the Nob that helped M. kill the Beetle. The Nob had been busy pounding on another Roach, and did not see the Hydralisk coming up behind him. The M. roared in murderous psychotic chuckles as he pressed his Power Klaw into action. The pistons pushed and disruption field crackled between the deadly but crude claws of the weapon, and within a second, the head of the Hydralisk was crushed into tiny pieces.

"I want some more killing! Waaagh!"

The M. 's luck did not last. With a matching roar, an Ultralisk had charged him. The sharp point of a Kaiser blade struck the M. 's gun arm, and the other Kaiser Blade came down hard. Being a creature of combat, the M. managed to catch the Kaiser Blade with his Power Klaw, and the fight between the Psi Blade encasing the Kaiser Blade and the disruption field of the Power Klaw struggled against each other in a deadly duel. Then just as the M. threw back the Kaiser Blade, a Baneling shot out from the ground in front of him and collided into the Ork. With his gun arm out of commission, the big Ork could not shoot it down before it exploded right at his chest. Though formidable, the M. 's armor was not infallible. Acid quickly ate through most of the chest armor, leaving him vulnerable, just as the Ultralisk delivered another blow, this time cutting deep into the chest.

Yet, this was the time for the Orks. The Ultralisk was already beset when it killed that M. . A Loota with Beamy Deffgun, a Shoota Nob, two Shoota Boyz, a Killa Kan with a pincer and buzz-saw, had found their target in the Ultralisk. The Killa Kan had a Gretchen sitting on top firing rokkits. The Gretchen have had placed spare rokkits around the top of the Killa Kan like a crown, but now the small creature was down to his last two rokkits. The Loota made the first strike, causing a deep burning scar on the large head armor that protected the most of the giant Zerg creature. Despite being only a glancing hit, the attack gave other Orks chance to attack. While the Ultralisk was busy stomping three Slugga Boyz around its feet, the Shoota Boyz and the Shoota Nob fired their crude Ork guns at the Ultralisk. The three Orks had been armed with not the general Shoota but the Big Shootas, allowing greater damage to the Ultralisk, enough to make the giant Zerg creature to roar in pain.

The Gretchen tied to the top of the Killa Kan fired a rokkit, which struck the Ultralisk's side, and it was lucky enough and powerful enough to make the creature bleed. Then the Killa Kan itself got into the hacking and slashing. Approaching the Ultralisk, the Killa Kan thrust its buzz-saw into the small gaping made by the rokkit. The whirring of the circular buzz-saw widened the wound and shredded the internal organs of the Ultralisk. Then, with a delighted glee, the Killa Kan plunged its pincer into the wound, grabbing and pulling anything it touched. The Ultralisk was in pain, and it showed that pain by sweeping its deadly Kaiser Blade through a Nob, a Slugga Boy, a Shoota Boy and two 'Ard Boyz and their thick metal shields. Yet, the attackers were relentless. Another shot from the Loota tore through the ligament to one of the Kaiser Blades, and the Shoota Nob dared to come closer and sprayed bullets at the Ultralisk's head.

It was not that the Zerg stopped responding. The two Shoota Boyz with Big Shootas who were firing their guns at the Ultralisk were forced to change target by the time the Killa Kan fired a rokkit. Four Zerglings and three Banelings had found the Shoota Boyz, and they had to quickly lay down heavy field of fire to kill them. Two Banelings and a Zergling had died in that storm of Ork bullets, but one surviving Baneling struck home, and killed a Shoota Boy. The other Shoota Boy was about to be overwhelmed when a Stormboy Nob landed on top of the first Zergling followed by his dozen-strong mob of Stormboyz. Stormboyz, being strong in discipline and tactical thinking compared to other Orks, often fought in tight packs. These were no different, even under the dictatorial rule of the Warboss Bugklaw. The Stormboy Nob easily crushed the Zerglings, and then led his Boyz into a frenzied killed spree against a small horde of Zerglings and Roaches that formed against a smaller group of Slugga Boys formed behind a ruined husk of a Looted Tank. Even as the Zerglings and Roaches crawled all over the destroyed Looted Tank to overwhelm the Slugga Boyz, the Stormboyz swept in with their deadly weapons.

Though formidable as the Warboss had been, the battle might have turned to Ork's favor with the Reaver killed by the hands of their Warboss. Unfortunately, not all battles could be turned around so easily. There still so many Reavers remaining on the field as well as the Hybrid Destroyers continuing to blast Orks apart with their psionic pulses from behind the wall of Hydralisks and Roaches.

"Im not dona wit ya yet! Waaagh!"

WAAAGH!

The roar of the Warboss rallied the Orks once more. Still thousands of Ork bikers were roaming the outer endges of the battlefield chased by Zerglings and Mutalisks, while scores of Fighta Bommas and Fightas were dog-fighting against the Zerg air units. Then there were tens of thousands of Ork Boyz blindly charging into the battle against equally numerous Zerg units. In battles like this, not even a company of Space Marines would have survived since they heavily relied on their strategies, tactics and might of their super-human bodies, not massive numbers fighting a brutal close-quarter melee. Perhaps, Khorne Berserkers would find satisfaction in battles such as this.

**~Well now... the Stompa seems unattended... Begin!~**

At my command, the Hybrid Destroyers stopped their attacks and formed a circle, where they began to pour in their psionic energy into a single ball.

"Wot's dat lite? O! U bugz planning sumfink! I think not! Attack boyz! Waaagh!"

Yet, it was too late for the Warboss. The psionic ball exploded into a truly stupendous Mass Recall, forming about a hundred meters above the Stompa. The Mass Recall did not summon a swarm of fliers or a huge horde of Banelings that would fall like deadly acid rain. It did summon one unique creature. It summoned the Host.

I really didn't know what else to name the creature. It was an avatar of me, but the name had already been taken by the Eldar and their Avatar of Khaine. Besides, it was not a daemonic creature. It was highly physical, and although it had so much psionic power, it was an empty vessel. I had inhabit it to make it work, and it was different from any other Zerg creatures I had possessed before. It really felt like my body. For the first time in years, I could actually feel my limbs. I could actually smell the air, as foul as it was at that moment.

I floated there, held in the air by sheer willpower of the Overmind. I was massive. Standing at 8 meters in full height, I was bigger than Dreadnoughts or even Hive Tyrants of the Tyranids. I was mostly humanoid in shape, with two legs and two primary arms. I did have some extra limbs though. I actually thought I looked very much a mix of Evangelion Unit 1 in berserk mode and one of those Gundam robots with wings. I did have wings, but they were not really for flying. The wings were shaped like three Hydralisk arms stacked upon each other with feathers coming out of them in loose formation, with the 'feathers' being enlarged versions of Ultralisk Kaiser Blades. Overall, one of my wings contained 12 Kaiser Blades set upon triple jointed frame. Each of the Kaiser Blade had their own Khaydarin Crystal, thus making them crackle with deadly disruptive energy. With this alone, I could grind the Ork army into mushroom mince, but I had other weapons on me.

My primary arms were mostly human, with little more claws on the ends of the fingers and talon protruding from my forearms like that of the Batman's suit. These arms were incredibly powerful, and the claws were Warp Blades too. From the palms of these hands were same sort of explosive Phase Disruptor as the Protoss Immortals' weapons, though magnified many times. Each wave of my hands could theoretically obliterate a super heavy tanks like Baneblades. Supporting this primary arms were two sets of lesser arms. One pair was under the primary arms, and they were fitted with smaller versions of Acid Hurricanes, the anti-infantry weapon. Obviously, my body's design did have similarity with my bio-titans, particularly in the modulation of weapons. The second set of extra arms were hidden behind the base of my neck. Normally folded in a nice fashion, each of the arms was a single very long talon. Unfolded, it could reach up to 10 meters, and being multi-jointed in nature, it could strike from any angles.

It was not just the weapons that made my body stand out. It was defense, which was also formidable. Using the lessons I had learned in designing my bio-titans, and factoring in the massive psionic reserves within the body, I had two layers of shield. The first shield was the Hardened Shield, which was not much different from my bio-titans. The second layer of shield was formed around the honey-comb shaped carapace pieces. Each piece of that biological armor had Protoss shield, so in the event of my Hardened Shield failing and enemies striking me with a deadly attack, I would still have a shield that could protect me before my enemies could get to my armor.

All these physical attributes, however, was meaningless to the psionic abilities that my body contained. The fact was that as the Overmind, I could actually use every kind of psionic attack that the Swarm could use. I could just as easily send forth a Psionic Storm or cast Force Field of Protoss Sentry, or use Fungal Growth or Corrupt. I could even create the Vortex of Protoss Mothership. I also had enough to energy to cast scores of such abilities before needing a break. Also, my body was designed to spawn and maintain large number of Larvae, which means that I could easily spawn a swarm of Mutalisks to harass the fleeing enemy, or a cadre of Ultralisks to be my meat-shields.

I decided to use an ability before destroying that Stompa. I collected some psionic energy and cast the Mass Recall, though now I targeted the large pool of units I had prepared back near the Primary Hive Cluster. Suddenly there were nearly a thousand Zerg ground units floating in the air around me. This is the kind of power I wielded in this body. Even a score of Ultralisks were thrashing about in the air. Chuckling, I rained them down upon the Orks. A single Zergling could do very little damage to a Looted Tank, but if that lone Zergling was shot at the Looted Tank at the speed of a bullet, then it becomes a different sort of game. The tank nearly rolled over when the Zergling splattered on its side, causing such impact as to make huge dent. Flying Roaches and their variants were much more effective against the Orks and their vehicles, while Hydralisks were fired like arrows or javelins, and their large body was quite good against the Ork Bikers. I deliberately fired Ultralisks at the Stompa, and the body of Ultralisks being fired at such high speed had caused rather intense damage to the Stompa. Dents appeared all over the Stompa and it was now covered in leftover bits of Ultralisks. Banelings were also fired, and they caused massive damaged to infantry, both of the Orks and of my Swarm. Acid did not care who they were dissolving.

Just as the Stompa slowly moved to seek out the assailing enemy, I descended upon it. My weight was immense due to my size and the density of my cells, and my body crashing down upon its head was a devastating attack. The head of the Stompa crumbled instantly, and I think I killed several dozen Gretchens that ran the head part. I could see that the Warboss Bugklaw turning to see what was all that noise, and I smiled as I saw intense rage appearing in his face. I was going to destroy the Stompa but I wanted to enrage the Big Ork a little more. Still standing on the flattened ruin of the Stompa's ugly head, I reached down with my hands and fired up a Psionic Storm inside the Stompa. The whole thing shook as if it was in the middle of a massive earthquake. From the broken cracks of the Stompa's body, bits of cyan-colored lightning bolts excused themselves after devouring several hundred Gretchens and any remaining Orks inside. Once I was satisfied that nothing inside the Stompa was alive, I proceeded to destroy the body. Bugklaw wanted to stop me, but I redirected the Hybrids to hinder the Great Ork.

He raged in furious and destructive anger while I pulled apart the Stompa piece by piece. My claws were powerful enough to rip through the Stompa's armor and pull out large chunks of the crude machine. Also, each time my hand punched through the armor of the machine, my palm let out the Phase Disruptor of the Protoss Immortals at about ten times the scale. Thus, with each strike, the internals of the Stompa became more and more ruined. Eventually, parts of the Stompa began to collapse under its own weight as the internal support beams were broken asunder. As I destroyed the Stompa, I could literally hear the incredible roar of Bugklaw as he slew four more Hybrids to get to where I am. His assault had been devastating, and with the loss of three Reavers and a Destroyer, my Zergs lost the momentum of attack and were pushed back. In that moment, the Warboss broke through the barricade of Zerg units, and ran straight to me, followed by a dozen Nobs and M. .

I was rather satisfied that Bugklaw's large Nob mob was now reduced to this, and I jumped down from the husk of the destroyed Stompa to face the Warboss myself. Being taller than him by far, I could look down on him and gain a tactical advantage. As Bugklaw charged onward, I gave him a really nice kick. Protected by Hardened Shield and tough carapace, my right shin struck the Warboss, who had a moment to protect himself from the strong kick. Though nearly 6m in height, Bugklaw was an Ork and they usually slouch. This had meant that my shin was actually quite a large one for him. He raised his Power Klaw to block the kick, and the impact made him fly backward by nearly three meters. Then I proceeded to remove the last of his Nobz while giving orders to my Zergs to find and kill any and all Nobz or their variants. My wings flared up and slashed across the battlefield, instantly turning Nobz into smaller pieces. M. fared a little better but the large-scale Phase Disruptor from my palms tore them asunder before my claws dug out their internal organs.

"Yu stop dat! Dey is ma Nobz! Waaagh!"

With his anger rising to a level where he is no longer able to consider retreat, the Warboss Bugklaw used his 'tellyporta' to make a surprise attack. He disappeared and reappeared right behind me. He then proceeded to hack at me three times before my tail, working like whip, slapped his Power Klaw to the side. He evaded the second tail attack and then fired his guns at me. My shield flared up but the damage wasn't as great as the Power Klaw. I quickly spun around, swinging my deadly clawed wings at the Warboss. It was obvious that he did not get to be the Warboss by just being big. He managed to take quick steps back to evade my attack, though the long reaches of my Warp Blade nicked him a little. Unfortunately, there was no way that he could win against me. Both physically and psychologically, he was no match for me.

He teleported once more, and he came for a kill-strike. The Warboss reappeared right in front my face and slammed his Power Klaw against my face, and even as the shield flared up, my lower secondary arms fired their deadly weapons. They were originally Acid Hurricanes, but during the fight, I had them retracted back inside my body and replaced the weapons with Phase Shock Cannon, a new weapon that I have designed to share similar working theory as the Eldar Shuriken weapons or the Tyranid Venom Cannon. A small Khydarin Crystal shard is encased in psionically reactive crystal and then fired using the impact of the Immortal Phase Disruptor. As the exterior crystal is slowly being disintegrated, the Khydarin Crystal mimics the disruptive pattern and bounces the disruption wave off the tiny shards of the exterior crystal that is falling off at alarming rate. This allowed everything in the path of the crystal ammunition to suffer catastrophic phase disruption, causing massive shock-wave. Impacted by such weapon, the Warboss was toss around like a rag doll. Though he was not directly hit with the weapon, the two cannons firing in succession had bounced him backward in a disgraceful tumble.

Before he could get back up, I was upon him.

**~DIE, ORK!~**

My upper secondary arms sped toward the Ork in a swift downward motion, but the great Ork was not so easily defeated.

"Tellyporta!"

Zzzap!

Once more, he disappeared, but this time, I could track him. Just as he reappeared right behind me and was about to shove his Power Klaw into my back, my tail worked its magic.

Blam!

It sounded almost like an explosion, but between my metal-tipped horns of my tail and his thick metal & Zerg carapace armor, the sound was loud.

"Wot? Wot's dis? I..."

I turned around and saw the surprise in this face.

**~Die!~**

Slash! Slash!

Two sharp sound of my wings slashing through the air were heard, and the tips of my wings were now buried firmly within the Warboss's jugular.

"Nah! Nah... Im da big Warboss... huh... uh... I cannot be... uhhh... Ma plans... uh... Waagh... gh... uh..."

I sneered at him as I grabbed his head and pulled. Supported by my psionic powers and the two wing tips holding his body, I pulled out his head and spine, just like how a 'Predator' would do it in the movies.

**~Your Warboss is DEAD!~**

Even as I shouted, the Ork horde was already in a great chaos. Few remaining Nobz and M. attempted to rally a support for their place as the Warboss, but the Orks were in such frenzied retreat that very few units rallied around the Nobz. Besides, all the Nobz were hunted by my Zergs, and even the few remaining Nobz were quickly hunted down now that there were infighting as well as fleeing. Unfortunately for the Orks, they were not going to run and live. All around the edges of the battle, thousands of Hydralisks and Roaches and Banelords appeared from beneath the ground. They worked like a cage, shooting down any runaway Orks. Those few who managed to reach the cage and broke through soon found themselves chased by Raptors and Mutalisks. Some Ork Bikers managed to reach the coast, but the coast was already taken over by my forces. One by one, those small groups of surviving Orks died under the well-directed attacks of the Swarm. By the sunset, there was no Ork left alive from Bugklaw's Waaagh!.

* * *

><p>Finally, I had defeated the annoying Orks.<p>

As the horizon was dyed in bright red of sunset, a creature appeared out from the ground. It was the Bloodmaster, my agent against the forces of the Chaos Lord Judanus.

**~Speak.~**

"Overmind, Judanus appears to have divined that the Orks have been defeated."

I chuckled. I knew of Judanus' capabilities, but I was not aware that the Warp powers he commanded were so versatile.

**~He is withdrawing his forces?~**

"Yes, Overmind. He seems to think that we would strike him down, now that the Orks are no longer a thorn on our side."

That Judanus was a smart one, but not smart enough.

**~That was a good guess from him. Tell me, Bloodmaster, from the memories of your host, do you know what he would do?~**

"I cannot be certain, but like most of these Chaos Marines, they are cowards in the face of certain defeat. He would most likely flee through the Warp Portal."

I growled in gentle satisfaction.

**~That I cannot allow. I will deal with Judanus's Warp Portal. What of the Loyalists?~**

The Bloodmaster shook his head.

"The incompetency of Judanus' forces is astounding, Overmind. There are still two Space Marines remaining allusive to the forces of Chaos."

**~The souls of the other Space Marines?~**

"I have received them, Overmind."

He then held out two crystalline bottles holding the pale form of concentrated souls. I grabbed them and swallowed them whole.

**~What of their bodies?~**

"Their bodies were beyond saving, and they took out the gene-seeds."

Of course, they did. The Chaos wanted gene-seeds as well.

**~We shall deal with the missing Loyalists in due time. But, first, we must finish off the humans.~**

"Yes, Overmind."

* * *

><p>Alena mused as she peered over the balcony. The Capital City was now so overcrowded that even the massive walls surrounding the city could not hold all those people, but they had to hold them. Outside the walls were roaming bands of Zerglings hunting down stray refugees who continued to arrive. Larger groups of refugees survived the scores of attacks by either fighting them off or by sacrificing some of their members. Small groups who managed to get here from small villages or towns were easily slaughtered. Nobles of outer regions marched through with hundreds of soldiers and dozens of armored and mounted knights, and they fared a little better, although there were several cases where the knights and soldiers abandoned their master in order to save their own lives. All in all, the Capital City was full.<p>

This was ironic that this massive city was full. The city was originally designed to hold a total of 5 million people, not including the garrison space for half a million soldiers. The Capital City was a planned city, initiated by King Orlandis III, a mighty king who reigned nearly four hundred years ago. Before this, the capital was further north at the city of Garav, the once capital of the Duchy of Garav. Orlandis III was a mighty warlord, and he ruled when the planet's original inhabitants still maintained several kingdoms in the South. He gathered to him a mighty army of Imperial Guards, who numbered tens of thousands as the original Imperial Guards had passed on their legacy to their children. He quickly conquered the South, finally uniting the super-continent under a single nation. Like all great rulers, Orlandis III also had a flare of grandeur and the need to display his legacy. He began an ambitious project to build himself a new capital that better suited the size of his massive kingdom. The king's relations with the Techpriests were still very good during that time, and they designed him a mighty keep and constructed a dozen mechanical cranes.

It had taken just over a decade for the king to finally complete the massive gothic-themed keep that could house over fifty thousand 'families' with ease. It was designed to contain all the noble families of the Kingdom during decennial celebration of Imperium, a tradition that has been kept on until rather recently. It was also an impressive defensive structure also. Concrete outer walls at three meter thickness with steel plating were thought to be enough to withstand bombardments from cannons, and this had been proven during several rebellions during the history of the Kingdom. Orlandis III was not satisfied with a massive keep, however. He designed an inner sanctum where nobles could have their opulent mansions. Surrounding his keep with massive gardens, garrisons, infrastructures like blacksmith and stables, he enclosed his keep with tall and thick walls protected by wide moat. Beyond this moat were ten thousand mansions with gardens. These were mansions of the ten thousand most powerful nobles. Protecting them were the Inner Walls. While lower and thinner than the wall surrounding the keep, they were still broad enough to have archers standing comfortably in three lines with enough space for a single man to walk behind them. It also had thirty six battlements, each with three large powder cannons. It took nearly 14 years to complete the inner sanctum.

Although Orlandis III was assassinated by one of his sons before he could see the completion of the inner sanctum, Orlandis IV continued his father's vision, and he even expanded the city to the current size, though the completion of the Outer Walls would not happen for another 20 years. In the end, the ambition of a king and his successor had created a city that could contain five million people. It was truly unfortunate that the city now held eight million. With three million more people inside a city designed for five, the crime spiked sharply, and by the order of the Queen Alena, even the inner sanctum was open, although only to the lesser nobles and their families. The food was dwindling by the day, and even with every granary open and strict ration imposed, the officials concluded that the city would begin to starve within ten days. Even the Queen and the nobles were now down to one meal a day, though they did have bread while the common people had watered-down gruel. Not that Alena really cared for all that, and neither did the powerful nobles who supported the Queen. The palace was full of Alena's supporters, and though they also had one meal a day, they did not look hungry. It was as if they did not need to eat, but in their hunger, no one noticed such.

"How laughable..."

Alena quietly chuckled at the people down below. Now, all those people would die.

"My Queen."

A female servant came up to the Queen, and she seemed to shrink in the presence of four large guards.

"What is it?"

"The nobles have gathered as you have commanded, your majesty."

It was time for the endgame.

"Very well."

While she gently walked to the court, Alena pondered about her humanity. Her human days seem so far behind her that she truly did not remember much. She knew that the Overmind loved her, though not quite in human way. She also knew that her 'father' Elric, 'uncles' Hargen and Vorlan were now like her. They were no longer quite human. There was the human brain and body still floating inside special vats deep within the Primary Hive Cluster, but they merely housed her soul. Even if she dies in the current body she walks in, her soul was safe back in her human body.

"We are here, your majesty. Do you require anything, sire?"

"No, girl. You may go now."

"Thank you, your majesty."

Dismissing the servant girl, Alena momentarily thought about how that human girl would scream and die within minutes. Alena quickly dismissed the thought. She was now Zerg, and human lives mean very little to her.

The herald roared her presence.

"Her majesty, the Queen!"

She sat on the throne, with her Spyling comrades standing around the room as if surrounding the nobles who were sitting in the benches. It was her turn to lay down the final killing blow.

"Hear me, Lords of the Kingdom."

She breathed in deep and she projected her voice.

"The end is here! The Swarm is upon us, and you all shall die to feed us."

It was not a long speech or particularly powerful one. However, as soon as several of the nobles began to guess the meanings behind her strange words, the panic began to set in. Alena smiled as her clothes burned away in a fire of psionic pulse. Her human-like skill shimmered as the illusion faded. Her real, terrible form appeared, and the court was filled with the terrified screams of nobles, only to be cut off by the changing of the nobles and guards surrounding them. They were all Spylings in disguise. Even as the Spylings hacked and slashed through the nobles, Alena smiled and walked out of the court. She soon reappeared from the nearest balcony. She raised her hands into the air and focused her power.

"We are ready, Overmind."

The Overmind, in his new and terrible body, appeared in a swirling cloud of psionic energy as Alena completed her Recall ability. Still floating in the air with the Bugklaw's skull and spine in one hand, the Overmind roared.

**~Die, humans. We shall feed upon your souls and flesh.~**

A terrible psionic energy crackled all around the Overmind as he poured his psionic power into a single ability.

**~Psionic Mega Storm.~**

With a blinding flash, psionic lightnings appeared everywhere. Alena enjoyed the massive influx of human souls that slipped from the incredible suction of the Overmind. He would take a lion's share, but Alena would still receive incredible amount of souls anyway.

"It is done, then."

Elric appeared from behind Alena, bringing along Vorlan and Hargen.

"Yes, father. It is done."

Free humans were no more in this world.


	39. Chapter 39

New Chapter is up! Sorry for making you wait~ Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 39<span>**

The North and the northern half of the West were now fully within the hands of Judanus. There were still millions of humans left alive at the time, and Judanus and his forces spent weeks of slaughters and debauchery that ended up summoning more forces of Chaos and Daemons. Judanus had not been idle in his works, and he now commanded Chaos Marines in numbers that would make him a powerful warlord. Indeed, only the largest of Warbands had more than a hundred dedicated Chaos Marines. Others, like the ones Judanus had summoned earlier in his campaign, were individual Chaos Marines whose allegiances to the warbands were relatively loose and they only sought the furthering of their personal goals. These Aspiring Champions leading hundreds or thousands of cultists were of little concern, but as the time passed, Judanus now commanded over a dozen Chaos Sorcerers dispatched by Ahriman and his associates, and twenty four Chaos Marines bound to his will. Eight were pseudo-Rubric Marines made from the tainted souls of Judanus' former co-conspirators, while the remaining sixteen were clones made by Fabius Bile using the gene-seeds extracted from the same co-conspirators Judanus turned into Rubric Marines.

Armed with his former Chapter's weapons, these twenty four Chaos Marines had enforced Judanus' will over the other Chaos Marines, eventually subjugating nearly fifty more Chaos Marines to his cause, particularly after he executed several leaders of Chaos Warbands. His power continued to grow as more and more minor Warbands of cultists arrived and Daemons were coaxed from the Warp. He formed several cadres of Bloodletters and a band of Bloodcrushers also. However, when he heard that the Orks were finally removed by his strange xeno ally, he began to worry. The Orks had amassed a very large army, an army that Judanus was not certain if he could take on and win. He had originally hoped that the 'Swarm' would find itself in a stalemate with the Orks, and Judanus could use the time to strengthen his hold on this world. Alas, it was not to be. Not only that, he was quickly made aware of how millions of humans died in a single hour, and all those souls were absorbed by something else, which he suspected was the work of the Swarm. A small panic began to set within him, and he hurried the summoning of more Daemons and Chaos Warbands. A week passed and the forces of Chaos had grown exponentially, at the cost of Judanus' hold on his army.

Now, there were four Chaos Lords who entered this world with significant enough Chaos Marines to challenge Judanus. Of course, Judanus had the support of Ahriman and his sorcerers, which kept him in power. Apart from Judanus' Warband of nearly eighty Chaos Marines, the dozen Sorcerers' kept force of over sixty Rubric Marines and there were about sixty thousand Cultists that Judanus had absorbed. The four new arrivals had a combined Chaos Marines of about one hundred forty, with Cultists numbering at nearly one hundred thousand. These two factions were matched by independent minor Chaos Warbands whose total Chaos Marine count now numbered at nearly two hundred, with Cultists at over a million. What really kept these Chaos Marines and their Warbands from dissenting was the large force of nearly five hundred Daemons. Four hundred Bloodletters roamed the land while a hundred Horrors of Tzeentch protected Judanus' tower. Normally, this sort of division in his force and the idea of losing a share of the Warband would have enraged Judanus. Yet, he was now aware of the bigger threat that could end him. Once his former ally, the Swarm, was ready, it would come after Judanus and his forces of Chaos. Judanus knew that if he wins then it was matter of internal political fighting against other Chaos Lords, which was much better than losing to the Swarm because there were not enough Chaos Marines.

Yet, the war did not come so quickly. Judanus got a little impatient, but he continued to fortify his domain, while sending out the rival Chaos Lords in the hopes of ransacking any remaining pockets of humans. When reports arrived to tell him that there were not enough human slaves for continued daily sacrifice, Judanus finally realized the deadly trap he had sprung. There was no backdoor left for him. Escaping in case of defeat was now out of the question. Without enough sacrifice to please the Dark Gods, Judanus could easily be trapped in the Warp and torn to pieces by the Daemons and whatever horrors that lurked within that chaotic realm. To make the matter even worse, his forces failed to capture Sergeant Armanus and Techmarine Pelagas. They went into hiding once the West and the Duchy was overrun.

"You worry too much, Judanus."

Judanus growled at his second in command, Lilgath the Apothecary.

"Silence, Lilgath. If I fall, so do you."

Lilgath, being a Khorne follower, chuckled.

"It does not matter whose blood is spilled, as long as they spill."

"You may not find Khorne in joyous mood when all souls that should have gone to him are devoured by the Xeno."

"Perhaps."

Judanus turned sharply, the metals of his armor grating against each other with terrible shrieks that somehow sounded like screams of humans.

"I just came to inform you that the 'Swarm' is moving."

"What!"

Judanus quickly moved to Lilgath and grabbed the datapad in the Apothecary's hand.

"Where are they?"

"Six hours from reaching the city of Garav, then I suspect that the Swarm will turn toward us."

Judanus frowned. Currently, one of his rival Chaos Lords resided in that city. Yet, he knew that the city would not be able to hold.

"What of the West?"

"They too are under siege. Three strongholds are being assailed by the xenos as we speak."

Judanus narrowed his eyes.

"Recall all forces back here. We make a stand here rather than be destroyed piecemeal."

"As you wish, Lord Judanus."

* * *

><p><strong>Dakka!<strong>

A single bolter round exploded within the flesh of a Zergling, blasting apart its side in a gruesome display of gore and guts. Yet the creature did not die nor did it slow. Though it faltered every few steps, its movement showed none of the signs to indicate that the bolter round did any significant damage.

"Hardy for a filthy xeno! Ha!"

Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!

Three more bolter rounds were spewed from the barrel of the large gun and in accordance with the marksmanship of the bolter's owner, the rounds struck home. The right wing of the Zergling blasted away along with its right front leg and its head. The creature collapsed in a dusty heap upon the bloody-stained earth, spilling its own blood upon the hardened cracked ground.

"That's right. Die, xeno. Your blood is for Khorne."

Yet, the Chaos Marine was fooled by his easy victory. Indeed, the victory was very hollow. In fact, it made his standing even worse. He did not know that the Swarm rarely sent a single creature out to fight.

"See the might of the Chaos! This is the power you could gain!"

The Chaos Marine made a graceful turn so contrast to his dark persona. The Cultists roared in excitement at his words. Chuckling in gleeful victory, the Chaos Marine took off his horned helmet to reveal his heavily mutated face. Two rows of a dozen small fangs appeared along with cat-like irises and a couple of tubing connected to the side of his head.

The triumph of the Chaos Marine lasted only as long as to the point when Zerg creatures exploded out from the ground right under him. The Chaos Marine spun around and stuck his jagged knife into the belly of the Zergling that jumped out right behind him. At the same time, another Zergling came up from the Chaos Marine's back followed by a Hydralisk that appeared right behind the Zergling skewered by the Chaos Marine's combat knife.

"You beset me with numbers, xeno? I'm a Champion of Chaos! I cannot be slain by rabbles of your kind!"

Crack!

"What? Impossible!"

The Chaos Marine cringed as a sharp talon pierced his abdomen from his side. The soft flexible armor around his abdomen was always the more susceptible part, but the CSM had not seen many instances when any part of his armor was pierced so easily. Frowning heavily, the CSM smashed the Zergling's head down with his fist while pulling his knife out of the first Zergling. The Hydralisk reared itself to attack, only to find the CSM move so fast that the pommel of the combat knife, which was horribly decorated with sharp ends and twisted thorns, smashed into the chest of the larger Zerg creature.

"I will not fall to you, xeno creature!"

The CSM then proceeded to punch the Hydralisk's head twice, stunning the creature. Even as the Hydralisk fell in daze, the Zergling, the one that had its chest pierced by the combat knife, returned to the fight. The Smaller creature suddenly leapt and headbutted the CSM in the chest with enough force to make the superhuman warrior stumble back. An Ork would have faltered against such attack, but this was a CSM, a warrior many centuries of experience. The CSM instantly grabbed the Zergling's head, and then twisted. In a synchronized attack, the stunned Zergling slashed the CSM's armored knee with its claw. Although the thick armor of the CSM blocked the attack, it was enough to throw the CSM off balance.

Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!

The hand of the CSM moved daftly and grabbed his bolter and he squeezed off six rounds, two went into the Zergling that slashed at the CSM's knee and three went into the Hydralisk and the last round flew off into the sky. Getting back up, the CSM saw the Zergling with the broken neck also trying to get back up.

"You are a resilient creature."

STOMP!

As he squashed the head of the Zergling under his metal boot, he noticed that the surroundings had changed. He had heard the voices, screams and fightings of his Cultists while fighting the Zerg creatures, but what he now witnessed was unexpected.

"My slaves! NO!"

His Cultists were all dead. There had been over three hundred Cultists and four younglings who were in the process of becoming the traitor Astartes. Now, there were three hundred Zerg creatures standing over their corpses.

"You would dare, xeno! You would...!"

Grrrrr... Roar! Growl!

Then he realized that he was surrounded by three hundred creatures ready to pounce him.

"FINE! Khorne does not care whose blood it is!"

_**Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!Dakka!**_

* * *

><p>All Chaos forces retreated back to the Tower, save for a single Warband under the command of one of Judanus' rivals. Judanus merely chuckled at this folly, but he felt that he had enough forces to make his stand. Judanus' rival in the City of Garav also thought the same, as he boasted his might and the might of his corrupted Astartes. This Chaos Lord, formerly of the Word Bearers but now fully dedicated to Khorne, commanded forty two Chaos Marines, mostly of Word Bearers but also of several renegades. He also commanded an impressive troop of nearly a hundred Bloodletters, as well as twenty thousand Cultists relatively well-armed and armored.<p>

The Chaos Lord Theq'aras the Ruin-Bearer had once raided an Imperial sector in the Ultima Segmentum, using a random Warp Storm that swallowed a whole sector. It was a sector thought to be relatively safe, and many of its Imperial Guard regiments were dispatched all over the galaxy, leaving the sector quite vulnerable, particularly since there were no Space Marines or Sisters of Battle strongholds that could come it its rescue with any immediacy. Though he had possessed no fleet and whose Warband had been merely a single squad at the time, the Chaos Lord banded together with other Warbands to raid this helpless sector. Using the breaches of reality all over the sector, he made daring raids against the sector's major manufacturing centres, as well as taking numerous slaves. He continued to gamble with his fate, and he managed to capture an Armageddon Class Battlecruiser, slaughtering its crew and dedicating it to the Chaos Gods. Following his success, he united the various Warbands operating in the sector into a single mighty army that could have launched a small but crippling Black Crusades from that besieged sector.

He continued to grow his army, and as his victories grew, the stronger the Warp Storm became. The Warp Storm soon swallowed several neighboring sub-sectors. The Chaos Lord managed to capture several minor ships, magnifying its naval power in the sector. Yet, the Warp Storm soon swallowed something that it could not handle so easily. A small strike force composed of Ultramarines, Blood Angels and Sons of Dorn, a chapter of Imperial Fist origin. Before the Chaos Lord knew of them or the threat they posed, the three Space Marine Strike Cruisers and their escorts made devastating hit-and-run attacks across the Warp-swallowed sector, breaking the Chaos forces from their entrenched positions. Upon realizing the danger, Theq'aras rallied his fleet to strike down the Space Marines, only to fall into a trap. His fleet was ambushed within a massive asteroid field where only his flagship, the Armageddon Class Battlecruiser renamed 'Screams of the Corpse', had managed to flee. With the main Chaos fleet broken, the scores of Chaos Warbands began to abandon Theq'aras. His forces, which once reached nearly four hundred Chaos Marines, six Dreadnoughts, a dozen different armored vehicles and more than a million Cultists, had quickly reduced to his own Warband, a paltry force of fifty Chaos Marines, a single Dreadnought and few thousand Cultists.

With his forces so gravely diminished and nearly three hundred Space Marines approaching on ships capable of devastating orbital strikes, the Chaos Lord fled the sector through the Warp Storm, swearing vengeance upon the three Space Marines Chapters that had shamed him so. He returned to the sector two more times, but each time, he was defeated by the Imperium, and in an effort to build his strength, he had assailed several worlds near the Maelstrom, only to face a combined Space Marine force of Blood Angels, Angels Sanguine and Angels Vermillion led by the Blood Angel's Chaplain Lemartes, also known as the Guardian of the Lost. Though Theq'aras had rallied a half-dozen Warbands together to form an elite army of nearly 200 Chaos Marines and numerous special units, he was no match against a task-force consisting of the Blood Angel Death Company, 1st Company of the Angels Sanguine and nearly 500 Space Marines in all. There, Theq'aras was beaten to a pulp by Lemartes' Blood Crozius before being whisked away by the powers of a Khornate Daemon of great power. Revived by a particularly gruesome and vile rituals, Theq'aras was ordered to quietly build forces to attack the Blood Angels. Unfortunately, in his quest to find a world to ravage, Theq'aras had agreed to join Judanus in corrupting this unremarkable world.

It was his bad luck that he came to this world, though he did not recognize it. In secret, other Chaos Lords often whispered that Theq'aras the Ruin-Bearer was more like Theq'aras the Bad Luck, for his remarkable bad luck. Theq'aras was really unlucky.

For three days and nights of terrible unending battle, Theq'aras and his forces fought back against the relentless and fearless swarms of the Zerg. The twenty thousand Cultists halved within the first twelve hours, then only the daemons and the Chaos Marines remained by the end of the second night. The final day and night, the daemons were finally removed from the field of battle, their corporeal bodies torn to shreds under the limitless number of claws and talons. To make matters worse, bits of the daemonic essence were being absorbed by the Swarm, and only a majority of a daemon, not the whole of it, were returned to the Warp. Individually, the lost amount of the daemon's essence was negligible, but it was a symbolically important. It was important to note that daemons are originally small fragments of their patron Chaos God Khorne, who, in turn, was a coagulated form of collected distilled souls. Finally, on final couple of hours of the third night, the Chaos Lord Theq'aras roared as he waded into a sea of Zerglings with his Accursed Crozius and Chaos Lightning Claw. Following him, the last remaining sixteen Chaos Marines crashed into the waves of Zerg with their assorted melee weapons.

Truly, the enraged attacks of Space Marines, be they Loyalist or Corrupted, were mighty and terrible. Through abandoning all ranged attacks and hacking away in the same level of insanity as their demented patron god, the Chaos Lord and his troops managed to inflict incredible damage against the Swarm, at least for the moment. At their hands, hundreds of Zerglings died within the hour, yet even as a score of Zerglings died one Chaos Marine fell. In the end, only the Chaos Lord in his Terminator Armor could remain standing. He was standing alone in a pool of blood and broken flesh. His Chaos Marines were all torn to pieces, their armors broken and their weapon embedded within the muscles of the dead Zerglings. Theq'aras breathed heavily as he continued to bleed from two score wounds that now resided all over his body despite the protection of the Terminator Armor. The lightning-fast strikes from Hunters, hidden between the Zerglings, had caused these damages with their empowered talons. Now, Theq'aras felt the blood filling one of his lungs and he felt that his liver was half-destroyed. His left arm, fitted with Chaos Lightning Claw, was shivering as the severed bits of his nerve cells and blood veins continued to cause him pain. His powerful melee weapon, the Accursed Crozius, was lost, swept up among the waves of Zerglings that swarmed over him. He had taken up his Meltagun to replace the Accursed Crozius, but he knew that he was a dead man. The only reason why he was still alive was because the hundreds of Zerglings surrounding him had stopped in their tracks and stared at him.

"What is this?"

"It is I, Chaos Marine Lord Theq'aras. I am Blood Master."

Then the sea of glowing eyes parted and a creature stepped forth. The creature looked like an Astartes, but the armor was neither a Loyalist nor fully Chaos. It was different. The armor was mostly that of an Astartes, possibly of Chaos Marine, seeing how scores of twisted thorns and horns decorated it, yet Theq'aras could see and feel that the armor was not corrupted. There was no presence in Warp in that armor, yet, it once held many tormented souls. Indeed, it was the armor of the Blood Master, a former Chaos Aspiring Champion subsumed by a Spyling that devoured the corrupted champion's brain and soul. In fact, as the Zerg creature continued to inhabit the body, and as it evolved in form and grew in power, the Zerg creature began to take over more than just that little empty space within the skull. The arms, lost to Judanus in a fight, were now replaced by strong muscle fibers of the Zerg, protected by carefully grown carapace and a layer of metallic armor piece that had same coloring and glint as the Protoss technology. In fact, the armband looked remarkably like that of the Protoss Zealot, though the crude appearance indicated that the Zerg had not quite mastered the artistic touches of the Protoss. The corrupted Power Armor that once protected the Chaos Marine champion was now drained of its Warp-based corruption, as the residual Warp energies were slowly siphoned by the Spyling's Khaydarin shards. Instead of Warp-based corruption, the corruption of the Power Armor was not that of the Zerg. Web-like veins covered the lower half of the massive shoulder pauldrons, and few bits of flesh growin between those purple veins revealed neat rows of gleaming scales, perhaps indicative of the changes that this set of Power Armor would go through under the command of the Spyling.

"Blood Master? I have not heard of you."

"I suppose my host was just one Aspiring Champion among many. However, on this world, I am rather famous."

Theq'aras narrowed his eyes at this strange amalgam of Chaos Marine and the xeno.

"What is it that you want? You could have ordered your creatures to tear me apart."

The Blood Master nodded.

"Indeed, I could have. Yet, I have orders too. Have you noticed that the bodies of your men, particularly your Chaos Marines, are gone?"

Theq'aras quickly surveyed the surroundings and nodded.

"Yes, that is true. What is your plan with them?"

The Blood Master chuckled as he gently grabbed one of the Zergling's head and stroke it like how Kerrigan did with the Hydralisk when she encountered Zeratul in the Xel'naga cavern.

"My master wishes that I construct a small army of corrupted Astartes, but not corrupted by the Warp or the Chaos, but by us, the Swarm."

"You dare desecrate the unholy armors of the Chaos Marines?"

"Do you not like the idea that your holy relics are being corrupted? I thought you, servants of Chaos, liked corrupted things. It could also be that you are all hypocrites and you only wanted the corruption by Chaos."

Theq'aras growled as he fingered the Meltagun in his hand.

"Of course! We serve the glorious Dark Gods! Blood for the Blood God Khorne, rotting diseases of Nurgle, infinite changes of Tzeentch and the exquisite pleasures and pains of Slaanesh, are all the corruption we need. I could offer you a chance to cast out your xeno master and serve the Chaos Gods! Imagine! All these terrifying creatures corrupted by the will of the Chaos!"

Indeed, to Theq'aras, a tiny momentary vision of such event flashed before his eyes. A thousand Zerglings with blood-red glowing eyes with their talons and teeth dripping with oozing blood, and another group pulsating with Warp-fire that rapidly mutated the limbs of the creatures, another group bound by chains held by daemonettes of Slaanesh and whipped into submission, and the last group of Zerglings slowly decaying and their flesh bulging with pus and disgusting disease-ridden ooze. Yet, such imagination ended when the Blood Master lifted up his left hand and pointed his index finger at the Terminator-armored Chaos Lord.

BUZZZZ!

With a strange sound, a dozen small threads of purple-colored energy reached forth from Blood Master's finger and grabbed Theq'aras and bound him tightly. Under such psionic might, even the Terminator Armor buckled and its wearer was brought to his knees.

"What is this sorcery? You will not take me so easily, xeno!"

He instantly lifted his Meltagun and fired a full volley into the face of the Blood Master. Super-hot flames fired at intense velocity struck Blood Master. Yet, it did not affect the Zerg-Astartes as much as the Chaos Lord had hoped. The Plasma Shield of the Blood Master, ever the more potent use of the Protoss Technology, had flared against such devastating attack, and being Hardened Shield, the damage was greatly reduced. The only real effect the Meltagun achieved was to drain the shield by nearly 20% and flung the Blood Master several meters, making the Zerg-Astartes crash into several Zerglings.

"That was impressive. The Swarm had yet to meet the true close-ranged fire from a Meltagun. Thank you for the experience."

"Impossible!"

Indeed, such a shot from a Meltagun would have obliterated most enemies, and even a fully armored Astartes would have lost his head. Only the heaviest armors would withstand such attack, yet this creature didn't even have a helmet.

"Nothing is impossible. We are the Swarm. We evolve and we consume. We will be here long after the Warp is consumed... by us."

Something inside Theq'aras broke. Fear, something quite unknown to an Astartes, reared its terrible head within the Chaos Lord's psyche. It was not a physical fear, but it was a fear of his essence being denied. His essence, his soul was dedicated to the worship of the Chaos Gods, and they existed in parallel with the Warp. Warp was the Dark Gods, and the Dark Gods were the Warp. The xeno claimed that the Warp would be consumed, and all the pieces began to fit. He understood now, perhaps through the gift of incredible intelligence granted by Tzeentch many centuries ago, that the xeno creatures have devoured bits of Bloodletters that once filled his ranks. He now understood that the real Blood Master, a Chaos champion, had been consumed and even the Warp-inflicted corruption had been consumed by the xeno. They ATE the Warp. It terrified the Chaos Lord, formerly of the Word Bearers.

"Now, I need your brain and your armor."

As the fear-stricken Chaos Lord shuddered, the Blood Master grabbed his neck and lifted up the Chaos Lord's face to his.

"Now, to the kiss of your doom!"

The Blood Master pried open Theq'aras's jaws with psionic-based telekinesis and locked his open mouth to it. With disgusting squelching sound, something passed from the Blood Master to the Chaos Lord. Then the two Astartes fell.

However, it was merely a minute or two before the Chaos Lord's body rose once more.

"I, Blood Master, am clad in new flesh! All hail Overmind!"

Theq'aras was no more. Even his face was now that of the Blood Master, as the Creep-like ooze covered the face of Theq'aras and reformed a twisted version of the Blood Master's face. It appeared that the identify of Blood Master was an important part of the Spyling itself now. This was conceivable since this particular Spyling was the Lord of Spylings, and a creature far more evolved than any Spyling thus far. Then, to answer the words of his minion, the Overmind answered.

~**Indeed, my child! I am so proud of you, my Blood Master.**~

The Blood Master cracked a toothed smile, as the score of metal-capped teeth of Theq'aras fell out and hundred of sharp and hard fangs appeared.

"What shall I do with my former body, Overmind? It still has uses."

~**You would require a second-in-command.**~

"As you will."

Then as if to spit out a phlegm, he spat out a small blob of dark purple goo that looked like miniature version of Changeling. A tiny shard of Zerg Khaydarin crystal appeared from that goo. With that in his hand, the Blood Master reached out with his other hand and spoke.

"I call you forth!"

~**You seemed to have taken a part of this Word Bearer's personality for ceremonies.**~

"I have absorbed all that he was, Overmind."

~**Indeed**.~

One of the Zerglings suddenly changed shape and turned into a Changeling. It came forward and reached and consumed the blob in the Blood Master's hand.

"Good. Now, that is your new body."

The Changeling shuddered as it quickly evolved into a Spyling within moments, then nodded in understanding, the creature entered the Blood Master's former body through the mouth and nose and ears.

~**Excellent. You have added a small part of you. I can feel it.**~

"Now, he shall know my every command."

~**Good. Rise... Shadow Blood.**~

The former host of the Blood Master, now named the Shadow Blood, rose from the ground.

"Command me, Overmind."

~**You now belong to the Blood Master, for he is the Lord of Spylings, the Lord of Changelings. Now, bring me the head of Judanus!**~

The Blood Master, now clad in Terminator Armor, nodded into an empty air.

"As you command, Overmind."

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><p><em><strong>(Overmind POV)<strong>_

Even as the Blood Master pummeled Theq'aras's forces at the City of Garav, I wrestled against the Warp itself. Judanus made several attempts to open a portal for him and his friends, but each time the portal formed and widened, I sent forth an incredible psionic pressure against the portal. With such powerful mind bearing down upon the portal, the Warp energies surrounding and sustaining the portal cracked and buckled. It was exhausting, but it was not as exhausting as it would be if I let Judanus escape. It also helped that the planet had formed a natural shell against the Warp. Not only did it block the raw energies of the Warp, blocked out daemons, it also made touching the Warp very difficult within the shell. Even though it was as fragile as a small bubble of air set upon a surface of water, it held even as I slammed into the Warp with my psionic might.

The Warp was indeed a terrible place, and I felt it each time that I placed the edges of my mind against the raw energies of the Warp that formed the portal. I could take glimpses of trillions upon trillions of daemons of millions of different forms rushing back and forth, riding through the violent and utterly random currents of the Warp. It was truly Chaotic. I could also sense a glimmer of light. I knew what it was immediately. I knew that it was the Astronomicon. It was the God Emperor of Mankind held in his corpse-state upon his Golden Throne. Once I felt it, I finally could understand the Tyranids' need to rush toward the Segmentum Solar. Even I salivated for a while. However, I still had much food to consume.

Each time Judanus tried to open a portal, a chunk of my psionic self pierced the portal and cracked apart the pillars of power that sustained the portal. My power moved like deadly tentacles, and they snared for me many daemons, and devoured them before I collapsed the portals. There were many Khornate daemons, as they were attracted by the smell of blood that filled the planet to the brim. I caught some of them, and I chewed their tough essence until I dissolved them into pure psychic energy, which I then fed through the huge pillars of Khaydarin Crystals, which refined the energy into a more useful form. The Tzeentchian daemons were more chewy and a bit like raw squid. They were slippery and confusing, but they were as tasty as any other daemon. As for the Slaanesh daemons, they stank a bit. It was as if I was eating a foreign food with different spices and herbs than I was used to. In the end, they were still consumed well. Nurgle's daemons tasted like thick stew or oatmeal. They tasted a little like beer that has lost all the fizz. Of course, my psionic self was big enough and powerful enough to not be affected by the things that I ate.

~**Hmmm... I should be careful about eating a Greater Daemon though... Unless I have tripled the Swarm... Yeah, I think triple should be enough to digest a Greater Daemon.**~

Then something else appeared.

~**Another portal so quickly after the last one?**~

I was curious. It was not a big portal. It was not enough to allow Judanus through. I reached forth once more toward the Tower of Techpriests.

~**Ah... a portal for communication**.~

I sensed a powerful presence on the other side of the portal.

~**A sorcerer of the Chaos? But who would have the powers to pierce the thick swirling Warp Storm that surrounds this whole system?**~

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><p>End of Chapter 39<p>

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><p>Some people wanted a new army list, so here it is. I've made a few changes and removed a few units that would not go in a standard invasion package of the Zerg Swarm (i.e Human-Hybrid Commanders, Overmind's Avatar).<p>

REMEMBER! These are my new Zergs, not the originals from the Starcraft series. They were piss weak, mine are more 40K-style.

**Codex: Zerg**

_Army List -_

Drone / Mega Drone

Overlord / Overseer / Hiveseer

Changeling / Spyling

Queen / Matriarch / Patriarch / Hierarch

Zergling / Raptor

Baneling / Gorgeling

Roach / Smoker / Beetle

Hydralisk / Hunter / Slayer / Lurker

Infester / Nest Lord

Ultralisk / Omegalisk / Banelord

Scourge / Scourer

Mutalisk / Gattlisk / Devourer

Corruptor / Guardian / Brood Lord

Hybrid Warrior / Hybrid Destroyer / Hybrid Reaver

Zerg Archon


	40. Chapter 40

Well, a new chapter is here...

Oh, and please take a look at my new story the 'Path to Godhood'.

It's fully 40K and it's fully grimdark as hell.

ENJOY!

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><p><strong>Chapter 40<strong>

**Tower of Defilement (formerly Tower of Techpriests)**

Judanus growled as he stared out from the balcony of his tower. The Swarm was already upon him. Millions of Zerglings and thousands of larger and more powerful creatures flung themselves against the thick walls. Judanus had opened the lesser vaults where the Techpriests had been hoarding weapons. The Chaos Cultists, often armed with primitive slugthrowers or simple melee weapons were given proper weapons in the hope that they can cause even a little damage to the incoming attackers. Ten thousand lasguns in good conditions were given to the Cultists while the non-Astartes leaders of minor Cultist bands were given the old Hellguns. There were only about eighty Hellguns, and non Hotshot Lasguns, but they were still better than the crude autoguns that fired iron-tipped bullets. As for the Chaos Marines under his command, Judanus generously opened several other weapons vaults, handing out treasured weapons of the _Hands of Sorrow_, his former Chapter. While he still reserved the few precious relics, the standard gears that the original survivors of the Hands of Sorrow carried were still of fine quality. Sixty two bolters, eleven heavy bolters, fourteen plasma pistols were among the many weapons that the Techpriests found, repaired and stored.

Judanus kept the relics, however. His hate for his former chapter was great, and he found delight in desecrating them. He was now wearing a former relic armor that he had forcibly corrupted. Once called the Mantle of Lecasus, worn by a famous Chapter Master of the Hands of Sorrow many centuries ago, it was not renamed the Mantle of Annihilation. Using the powers of the Chaos Undivided, Judanus corrupted the holy relic of his former chapter into a powerful but frightfully corrupt armor. The shoulder pauldrons were once heavily decorated with a golden aquila and names of enemies who fell to the wearers of the armor. Now the pauldrons had boney fingers growing out on the edges and the golden aquila was turned into that of a daemon's face with weeping blood for tears. The chest plate had lost the golden skull with fifteen Purity Seals, and in its stead, there was the mark of the Chaos Undivided whose golden form was etched with the crackling Warp energies. The arms, wrists and hands were covered in bones made of wrought iron that slowly oozed blood that quickly evaporated into red mist. The backpack now had four exhaust ports fuming with pink smoke and buzzing noise while the greaves on his legs were covered in tiny cracks that hissed out dark green toxic gas.

Indeed, he was completely ready to meet his fate in battle, if things came to that. When a Tzeentchian Chaos Lord such as Judanus was readying for a battle, it was unseemly for a Khornate follower such as Lilgath to hold back. Accordingly, Lilgath had also taken things from the collection of corrupted relics of his former chapter to prepare for battle. He now held two Power Axes, a set taken from a Vanguard Veteran but now corrupted by Judanus in the name of Khorne. Lilgath removed his Apothecary's armor and equipment, and was wearing a relic armor of the chapter worn by the Company Standard Bearer. Once beautifully constructed Artificer Armor, it was now painted in blood and there were thick veins growing on the surface of the armor, each pulsating with screaming souls and blood of those sacrificed to corrupt the armor.

Beside Judanus and Lilgath, the surviving Chaos Sorcerers and their Rubric guards also prepared to defend the Tower. Of course, being Tzeentchian, they had no intention of putting themselves on the front-line but would 'allow' the fools to take the hit first. Yet, all these schemes failed against the numerically superior forces of the Swarm. One by one, Chaos Marines fell and before long, the Cultists were all wiped out. Only a handful of Chaos Marines and many hundred daemons stood their grounds as the Zerg swarmed over the walls and through the broken gate. Khorne's Bloodletters and Tzeentch's Horrors fought with terrible vigor, but eventually even they were torn apart. Dozens of Juggernauts rampaged across the inner sanctum, but they were brought low by the multitudes of Hydralisks firing their deadly anti-armor spines against the daemonic creatures.

Judanus knew that the paltry three dozen Chaos Marines holding the gate on the ground floor would not be able to turn the tide. Even as he relished the idea of hacking away at the Swarm, he valued his life too much. Judanus grinned savagely as he activated the servo-defences within the Tower and placed the whole structure in lock down. Then he turned to the remaining five sorcerers.

"Initiate the ritual!"

"Yes, Lord Judanus."

They chanted in foul tongue and soon, a small portal opened. It was not enough to pass through but it was enough to contact someone. From the portal, a mist-like energy tentacles spewed forth and a shadowy form appeared in front of Judanus. The telltale horns on his helmet and the mighty staff had revealed that this was none other than Ahzek Ahriman himself. This great and powerful Chaos Sorcerer had answered the call of Judanus.

-You dare to contact me? Have your failures finally culminated in your impending death?-

Judanus knelt before the form of Ahriman.

"Lord Ahriman! The xeno swarm is too many. Moreover, this Overmind, the gestalt mind of the xeno swarm has slain some of your sorcerers as they attempted to open a portal."

That got Ahriman interested.

-How is this possible? This xeno swarm that you speak of... it is psychic in nature?-

"It appears to be so, my lord."

-Hmm... I wonder if I could corrupt it. Bringing an entire xeno swarm under my sway has some merit.-

Ahriman's great mind quickly analyzed the the situation.

"My lord..."

-Speak your mind, fool.-

"Although your sorcerers have failed to open a portal, perhaps I could plead with you for a favor..."

Ahriman scoffed at Judanus' craven form.

-You are such a disappointment, Judanus. I have provided you with spells, sorcerers and Rubric marines. I have given you a contact with Fabius Bile. Yet, you come to me once more to beg for your life. Perhaps I should just kill you myself.-

From the shadowy hands of Ahriman, incredible purple lightning erupted and struck Judanus, who screamed like a little girl. He had no idea how powerful Ahriman was, and that Ahriman's powers allowed the grand Chaos Sorcerer to project such attacks even through a shadow puppet.

-You should count yourself lucky. I have divined that the great Chaos God Tzeentch has plans for you.-

Ahriman relented his torture.

-In return for saving you, you shall serve me for three hundred years. Do you accept this most generous deal?-

Judanus panted in pain but he nodded quickly.

"Yes... Lord Ahriman. I shall serve you... just open me a portal..."

-Disgusting...-

Then the portal opened wider to reveal the interior of Ahriman's ship. Judanus stood up, and after shaking away the pain, he entered the portal, followed by his bodyguards, Lilgath, the Sorcerers and the Rubric Marines carrying Judanus' most valued treasures. Ahriman's shadow puppet remained as Judanus slowly entered the portal.

-Huh... the gate has been broken.-

Ahriman sensed that the Chaos Marines on the ground floor of the Tower were all killed, and the Zerg were hacking at the thick blast door.

-Such a waste... Hm? I sense a presence... a powerful mind...-

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><p>My incredible mind reached forth and I sensed Judanus fleeing through a portal, which I thought was impossible without great number of sacrifice to the Chaos Gods. Yet, this Chaos Sorcerer has so casually opened a portal that allowed Judanus to flee.<p>

**~You DARE!~**

The full weight of my mind crashed against the hastily erected psychic barrier of the Chaos Sorcerer.

-What are you? You are powerful indeed.-

**~I am the Overmind! We are the Swarm! We shall devour you!~**

The Tower of the Techpriests cracked under the sheer pressure of two mighty psychic energies colliding against each other. The thick walls of concrete, metal and armor plating were suddenly engulfed in Warp fire and cracks appeared all over them.

-You are indeed a sort of a hive mind, but it is foolish for you to contend your will against mine! I am Ahriman! I shall break you and your precious Swarm shall serve me!-

He was Ahzek Ahriman! How interesting. He was indeed powerful, but he was not aware of my true powers, let alone the advantages that I have.

His mind crashed into mine, and we were locked in a war within our mindscape.

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><p><strong><span>Mindscape<span>**

Ahriman found himself gazing upon his own mindscape. It was a hellish nightmare that an average human would go insane just by looking at it. He turned slightly to see the massive statue standing proudly behind him. It was a golden statue of Magnus, his Primarch.

"He is still here..."

Ahriman sighed as he recognized the importance of Magnus in his own psyche. No matter how powerful Ahriman had become over the ten thousand years, and no matter how many secrets and magic he had uncovered, there was still a place for Magnus in his heart. The grand sorcerer did not greatly begrudge his Primarch for being such a figure in his thoughts. It did provide an anchor of sorts.

Turning away from the giant statue, he stepped onto the ground, where the soft earth of orange, bright purple and fluorescent red color scattered and collated. The ground heaved and pulsated and changed with each of his steps. He could see the distant peaks of mountains that shifted into forms of tortured humans squirming in pain. The sky was in constant broil between clouds of varying colors, with the background of fluorescent green changing into milky pink then turning into pitch black with millions of blue skulls.

Then he saw a line in the distance. It was like a line drawn in sand, but on the other side of the sand, there was a green pasture. It was an endless fields of green grass with low rolling hills beyond, and bright blue sky with cute little white fluffy clouds.

"That is the mind of a xeno swarm? What joke is this creature trying to pull on me?"

Ahriman crossed the line so easily. He was beyond confident about his own powers and ability. The grasses died under his boots. Like tiny droplets of ink upon white paper, the grassland of the Hivemind's mindscape began to crack.

"It would be easy to corrupt this creature."

~I think not.~

The Overmind answered, the invisible sneer so evident in its voice.

"Ah, you are aware of my presence in your mind."

~Yes... and it was a mistake for you to come here.~

The scenery changed instantly. The grasses changed into tiny tentacles of dark purple color, while the clouds became giant lidless eyes, and the low rolling hills became giant worms moving across the land. From the land all around Ahriman, tentacles with sharp claws exploded out from the ground. Suddenly surrounded by a hundred Spine Crawler tentacles, Ahriman appeared to be in a great disadvantage.

"Fool! This is your attack?"

Giant bubble of crackling lightning appeared around Ahriman, each strand of lightning appearing like a tormented ghost of a human. The tentacles and lightning collided, each fighting their down terrible fights. The tentacles constantly changed and adapted, growing new branches or claws or suddenly spewing acid. Ahriman's lightning fought like Khorne Berserkers, changing their lightning forms to create crude melee weapons and fighting the tentacles.

~Impressive for a singular being.~

Suddenly, the ground under Ahriman gave way to scores of sharp blades, each burning with dark purple fire. They were Warp Blades of the Dark Templars, the Overmind channeling the energy of the Void to piercing Ahriman's defenses. Yet, Ahriman was a grand sorcerer of Chaos and one of the most powerful psychic beings in the galaxy. He bent the space around him, and the mighty and terrible Warp Blades of the Dark Templars were bent in such illogical way that they could not reach the sorcerer.

"You are quite possibly the most interesting creature. Let's try... unleasing daemons into your mind."

Ahriman swung his Black Staff, and nine tiny portals of brilliantly blazing colors appeared over Ahriman's head. From each, nine Horrors of Tzeentch spewed forth in all their hideous and ever-changing forms. They landed upon the tentacle covered landscape of the Overmind's mind. Yet, Ahriman had made a mistake in summoning daemons directly into the mind of the Overmind.

~Ah! Tasty daemons!~

"Tasty?"

The ground opened up to reveal scores of mouths with thousands of tiny fangs and three tongs that grappled the daemons into the mouth. Upon other Horrors, the tentacles under their feet suddenly grew and swarmed over them, crushing the Horrors and consuming them in the ways of carnivorous plants. The remaining Horrors were devoured by scores of worms, looking like smaller versions of Nydus Worms, appeared from one side and snatching the daemons before re-entering the field.

~Thank you for the morsel. These Tzeentchian daemons are all so spicy!~

Something akin to horror and surprise appeared on Ahriman's face, obscured by his helmet.

"Impossible!"

~What? Do you find it difficult to comprehend a being that devours and consumes daemons? I can devour an entire Warp Storm, what makes you think at daemons are indigestible for me?~

From the decoration of third eye on Ahriman's helmet spewed forth great psychic pulse that turned into bright purple Warpfire that consumed the tentacles around Ahriman. Then turning on the spot, Ahriman walked and crossed back over to his own mindscape. He knew that fighting such being on its own mindscape was difficult.

"Consume a Warp Storm? Impossible."

~Nothing is impossible, Ahriman of the Thousand Sons.~

Ahriman turned quickly to find a creature crossing the line. Though Ahriman kept his residual self-image and was standing at over 3m, this creature was bigger. Here, the Overmind looked like a strange version of Protoss Archon. Overly emphasized shoulders and big gauntlet-hands and no legs were same. There were extra pair of arms, and there was a tail, but the biggest difference from the Protoss Archon was the face. It was a horrible mix between Zerg Queen (from SC2), the Protoss Archon and the Hybrid Reaver, and the combination continuously changed.

~So, this is your mind? How predictable.~

"Begone!"

With a swing of his staff, Ahriman conjured jet black flames that crackled in the air as it sped toward the abomination. Yet, the Overmind was powerful. The ground beneath him exploded into action and a wall of stones blocked the attack, and not only that, Zerg Creep began to spread from the beneath the Overmind's avatar.

"How? This is my mind!"

Ahriman willed forth a dozen Terminators of Thousand Sons, though they looked ghostly and horribly corrupt. These dozen Terminators charged toward the Overmind, but the Overmind's powers were great. With a single swing of its four arms, four Terminators were skewered with brilliant orange colored energy. Then as the other Terminators attempted to strike at the Overmind, he grew in size to nearly 6m, towering over even the Terminators. Then his tails worked. The single tail split into five and each coiled around a Terminator and squeezed until the ghostly armors of Terminators were crushed like tissue paper. Then from the fanged mouth of the Overmind's avatar, a great torrent of acid poured over the remaining Terminators, turning them into goo.

"I see! I was fooled! Ha! You fooled me into believing that I was back in my mind! Any lesser sorcerer would have fallen for it."

~I seemed to have underestimated you also, Ahzek Ahriman.~

Now, Ahriman was really back into his mind. Like two continents breaking apart from each other, the minds separated.

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**Tower of Defilement (formerly Tower of Techpriests)**

In front of the portal, Ahriman's ghostly shadow puppet disappeared with a puff and the portal quickly closed. I shoved into a few tentacles of psionic power and grabbed four Rubric Marines, but with the portal shut, my hold on them were gone. Yet, I did feel that the four Rubric Marines were not going to reused anytime soon since I crushed them into small balls.

**~Well, I wanted to eat Judanus... Huh? The Loyalists!~**

In those moments between my mind and Ahriman's mind clashing, the Loyalists had lifted off with a single aircraft. With all my units focused on the Judanus' Tower, I had no unit close by to intercept the Loyalists. It appeared that the Loyalists were hiding upon a high mountain ranges across the vast lake, right on the opposite side of the Tower. From the mid section of the tallest mountain, a single Valkyrie departed. That was the extent of my vision, and within the pressured eye of the Warp Storm, my psychic presence could not affect physical things to great effects. My psychic or psionic presence were like daemons, powerful but hard to manifest in realspace.

**~The Warp Storm's regular interval of weakness! But why are they going up there?~**

Then I saw it amid the opening veils of the Warp. A ship, a sort of cargo ship by the looks of it, was still floating up there with some sort of realspace bubble around it. The frozen time of this particular Warp Storm had frozen it in place, and the Loyalists were going for it.

**~NO! Catch them!~**

Hundreds of Mutalisks and thousands of Scourges sped toward the Valkyrie, but they were too far. I just had to hope that the Loyalists would take too long to reactivate the ship. Then, in my desperation, I bit a large chunk of the Warp Storm near the cargo ship, hoping to bring it within the Eye of the Storm, where I could catch the cargo ship itself.

**~Ah, shit!~**

That was a mistake. I immediately felt every Khaydarin Crystal in my Swarm suddenly being overloaded with the massive psychic powers of the Warp Storm I just swallowed. Though nothing catastrophic happened, my hands were suddenly tied. I went into a sort of food coma. I was aware, but I was not able to give orders to my minions. The only focus I had was to digest the piece of Warp I just bit off. Immediately, Alena and my elite commanders were aware of the problem and their backup commands were activated. They took charge of their armies and tried to keep them from tearing themselves apart. The units under my direct command went into food coma with me, while those that I have delegated to Hierarchs, Patriarchs, Matriarchs and Hiveseers were going berserk as the leaders went into food coma. Then in that moment, the Eye of the Warp Storm temporarily lost cohesion. Though it was for less than ten seconds, the enormous pressure that kept out the daemons disappeared. Well over a hundred thousand daemons of various kinds fell upon the planet. My Zerg forces under the human commanders of that of Blood Master were still functioning, and they fought back against the sudden appearance of daemons.

Tens of thousands of Bloodletters rampaged across the Creep-covered fields, slaughtering feral Zergs or dormant Zerg creatures in food coma, while Horrors set the structures on fire. Daemonettes roamed my domain in large groups and screeching their horrible music, while the slow Nurglings spewed out pus and disease that my Zerg creatures were quickly infected and then overcome. The daemons of Slaanesh and Nurglings were having trouble though. My Zergs were exceptionally strong to diseases, and if they burrowed, their regenerative powers healed them at incredible rate. Also, my creatures did not understand music or art or pleasure or seduction. To my Zerg creatures, Daemonettes were just another creature to kill and eat.

It took three days until I was out of food coma, and the killing of daemons really begun. Alena and my commanders did well, and they had killed about half of the daemons, though the essence of those daemons could not be absorbed since every Khaydarin Crystal in the entire Swarm were dedicated to processing the piece of the Warp Storm.

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><p><strong><span>Few moments before the Loyalist escape-<span>**

**Hidden Bastion of the Loyalist Space Marines**

"Will it be ready in time, brother? You have mentioned that there is only one chance."

Veteran Sergeant Armanus spoke gently as Techmarine Pelagas was welding more things on to the Valkyrie. Pelagas paused then shook his head.

"Pelagas."

"It will be ready, brother sergeant. I must concentrate. If there is one little leak, we could all die."

"I understand, brother."

Armanus sighed and turned around, and saw the sixteen men in full Imperial Guard Stormtrooper garbs. One of them was the Duke of Verin, now the last remaining free noble on the planet. He was wearing a carapace armor and helmet painted in black with gold decorations. It was one of the treasured equipment from one of his ancestors. He was armed with a bolt pistol, also ornately decorated, and a Power Sword of a Commissar. There was another with decent garbs. Inquisitor Pardia, the man who tried to warn about the Zerg was here. He had fled the Capitol, and eventually joined the Loyalist Space Marines. He was armored with one of the lesser treasures of the House of Verin, and armed with a Hellgun and a Commissar Power Sword. Other fourteen men were all Knights of Verin, those who had served with the Loyalists and still alive.

They were good men, and they followed without question. Now, their sufferings have brought them here, to the last and desperate chance to get off this planet. Everything else had died. Only the xeno Swarm, and the Chaos forces had remained alive, and perhaps the Orks. Since they had been stuck here for a while, they no idea that the Orks were annihilated to the last spore, and the Chaos forces were being driven back to their last stronghold. Even as Pelagas made his final preparations, the tensions mounted. The Valkyrie originally carried only twelve men plus a pilot, a navigator and two gunners. That came to total of sixteen men, but with two Space Marines, there were two more people. Fortunately, Pelagas had increased the carrying capacity a little, since they didn't have any missiles or heavy bolters that would add to the weight of the ship. It was barely enough. Each man had to carry their weapons and rations. They presumed that the supplies aboard the cargo ship may still be uncorrupted, but in case of them being corrupted, they carried with them some rations.

Yet, none had too much hope. The escape itself was a perilous attempt, and they recognized it.

"It is done. We must board now."

At the words of Pelagas, everyone silently mounted on. Pelagas had removed his armor as much as possible to squeeze into the cockpit, while his navigator was the Duke. Others were loaded on to the transport section. They all stood quietly, and prayed to their God Emperor.

-Opening the hanger doors. Engines prepped. May the Omnissiah bless the vehicle, and the God Emperor's blessing be upon our souls.-

With terrible roar of engines and shuddering of the vehicle, the Valkyrie lifted off. It soon gained velocity it required to fly beyond the atmosphere. Then they heard the screaming in the distance.

-Xeno fliers! Six enemies behind us.-

Armanus pressed the comm button.

"Do we have any weapons to fire upon them?"

-No, sergeant. However, we are moving too fast for them to catch up with. We will be beyond their reach in ten... nine... eight... seven... six... five... four... three... two... one... We are out of their reach.-

The Valkyrie continued to shudder, as if the Warp Storm they were heading into was more deadly than anything else thus far.

-I see it. The Geller Field is intact. The Warp Storm has become thinned here... entering the Geller Field soon. It will be turbulent. Hold on.-

At these words, everyone grabbed something. Then the Valkyrie was almost torn to pieces. The pressure was enormous, and sounds of metal folding and cracking was heard.

"Steady. Do not panic."

Armanus cut off any sign of panic beforehand. Then just as suddenly, the shuddering stopped.

-We are inside the Geller Field. We will reach the hanger within moments.-

* * *

><p><strong><span>Inside the Armed Freighter 'Undaunted Labor'<span>**

"The life-support is still active. You may take off the masks."

Pelagas was the first one out, despite his lack of shoulder pauldrons and other heavy bits. Even as he put the pieces back on, he had scanned the air.

"Are we safe?"

Armanus' first concern was the possibility of terrible things inside the ship.

"That depends. I and Techpriest Obran had theorized that this ship had been in temporal suspension during most of the times. Only during the regular thinning of the Warp Storm, that the ship is free. If we do not get out of here within the hour, we will be stuck here for another century or so."

"Very well."

Pelagas quickly went to work and he found his answers on the nearest console.

"Everything is in tact. The ship has spent merely ten hours since it was swallowed by the Warp Storm."

"What of the crew?"

"Unknown. However, the schematics suggest that the damaged port side section had opened up and vented atmosphere. It appears the safety systems were activated within last three hours, but not before the majority of the crew died of asphyxiation."

"Survivors?"

"No more than nine, possibly including a Navigator. They've had three hours to recover, though they were stuck in time for over five hundred years."

Armanus shook his head.

"These talk of time and differences in time is giving me a headache. Tell us what we need to do."

"The bridge is secure for now. We need to activate the ship while repairing certain sections."

"Let's get to work."

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><p><strong>END OF CHAPTER 40<strong>


	41. Chapter 41 - 1st Arc End

I know it's a little short, but the part 1 of the Swarm of War has ended, and Chapter 42 will begin the Part 2.

Part 1 has been the building up. I know, I spent 41 chapters to build up the Zerg in the 40k universe,

From Part 2, the POV will be changed, and characters introduced, and real war will begin across the galaxy.

Thanks, and if you would, please have a look at my new story 'Path to Godhood'!

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 41 – End of Part 1<span>**

**Zerg Primary Hive Cluster - Year 10 AC(After Conquest**)

Okay, I will not deny that I was sorely disappointed that I've lost both Judanus and the Loyalists. I did not get angry, because my actions could not have prevented their escapes.

One good thing was that the planet was now mine.

There was no other species left alive upon this planet. Only us, the Zerg.

Knowing the different flow of time between 'inside' the Warp Storm and the 'outside' of it, I was perfectly willing to wait out the Warp to dissipate normally, because that would still give me plenty of time to prepare.

Of course, I was getting hungry, and without any souls to consume, I was reduced to nibbling at the Warp Storm. It wasn't a voracious hunger, but I 'desired' more power. I wanted power to survive this hostile galaxy. I needed to be power for my Swarm, and my Swarm needed to powerful enough to fight off anyone who wanted to wipe us out.

The eating of Warp did cause sporadic Daemonfall across the planet each time I bit into the Warp Storm. I did take smaller chunks, and did prepare extra Khaydarine Crystals to help with the digestion. Also, my Swarm began to swell in numbers. I had ten thousand Hatcheries dedicated to producing only Zerglings. This had meant that given the current evolution of Zerglings, I could produce around four million Zerglings every twenty four hours.

With the Queens helping with extra Larvae, each Hatchery maintained up to twenty four Larvae every six hours, and four Zerglings hatched from each Larvae, and they took six hours to hatch. So, 10,000 Hatcheries x 25 Larvae x 4 Zerglings per Larvae x 4 times a day = 4,000,000 Zerglings every 24-hour day. Since this was only for the Zerglings, and there were other clusters of Hatcheries, Lairs and Hives that produced other creatures, the numbers were swelling very well.

We also drilled into several regions of volacanic landscapes, exposing plenty of lava to regurgitate mineral resources. Using the Khaydarin Crystals, I've begun an experiment to coagulate minerals from the lava and let them grown into mineral crystals, similar to the ones back in the Starcraft universe. It was moderately successful, but to be able to use this on other non-volcanic worlds, I needed different approach.

Meanwhile, the sea-level was greatly reduced but not entirely gone. After all, I made aquatic Zergs, so I didn't want to kill them off for no reason. Actually, they wouldn't die, but just flop around and do nothing, and that was wasteful. Instead, they continued to hunt down any animal life-forms left in the deep seas, and drilling volcanic holes near fault-lines. The number of Hydrolisks were kept low, not replacing them except when their number fell too much. The other aquatic-Zergs also suffered similar fate, except for the Krakenlisks. The squid-like Krakenlisks were actually being grown in large numbers after going new evolution. I realized that Krakenlisks could be great in space, and since we've finished conquering one planet, I had get my Swarm ready to spread across these hostile void. The new Krakenlisks were enormous. The new Krakenlisks were now almost 120m in length, among which the body is 50m and the tentacles at 70m. The Prismatic Beam inside the body got an upgrade, and the armor and shield increased. The newly added ability to go invisible for up to one hour every 6 hours was going to make these creatures quite a surprise to my potential enemies out there.

Of course, I did not neglect the lesser creatures. Mutalisks and Gattlisks gained new evolutions. Mutalisk bodies were now nearly 6m long, and its body was covered in light honey-comb carapace with psionic matrix to reinforce it against attacks. While lacking in shields, the psionic matrix within the carapace would harden the carapace against attacks while giving the Mutalisk regenerative armor. The range of the attack had grown also. Before, Mutalisks and Gattlisks were forced come down to the ground quite close to fire their deadly Glaive Wurms, and that had allowed Orks to fire their guns to kill the Mutalisks. By upgrading the firing mechanism from simple muscle spasm to psionically charged catapult, the range grew from mere 60m maximum range to almost 200m optimum range and the maximum range of nearly 250m.

Gattlisks, while getting the same upgrades as Mutalisks, also gained new ability. They were now able to fire their potent munition like a shotgun in dire circumstances. Instead of rapidly firing Glaive Wurms in succession, the Gattlisks could not fire up to 30 Glaive Wurms in a single deadly volley, and being launched by psionic catapult, the range of this deadly missile is increased to almost 500m with the added ability of tracking the enemy. If used as a form of flak, the Glaive Wurms would explode outwards near the enemy fighters. If used as a penetrative agent against slightly bigger ships or carriers, the ball of 30 Glaive Wurms would pierce enemy armor and explode inside the vessel.

It would be laughable to upgrade the Mutalisks and Gattlisks without upgrading the Glaive Wurms. Glaive Wurms were not fitted with the tiniest Zerg Khaydarin Crystal charged with psionic energy. This allows the Glaive Wurms, now slightly larger and their fins longer, to spin faster and bounce once more. Also, the Khaydarine Crystal grants the Glaive Wurms to gain a thin disruptive field that allow it to pierce enemy armor. This was a technology gained from the Power Sword of the humans and Chaos Marines, and I made a biological/psionic version. Moreover, the Glaive Wurms could not track enemies within their range. So, the Mutalisks and Gattlisks will no longer have 'near miss' because a Glaive Wurm within 5m range of an enemy will change course and strike the enemy.

Corruptors were grown larger now too, and with more and longer tentacles. They moved a little faster, they gained shield, and they now had the ability to not just spew Corruption Acid upon the enemy, but they could also form a resilient fog of the Corruption Acid. This allows my Zerg to create a massive field of fog where any enemy passing through it will be weakened. Along with Corruptors, the Devourers gained upgrades too. While Corruptors were upgraded to mere 20m in length with the tentacles being 15m, the Devourers underwent some drastic changes. Devourers became the heavy hitter among the lesser creatures. If the Mutalisks and Gattlisks were light fighters, and Corruptors were medium fighters, then Devourers were bombers. Their size was now nearly 35m in length and 25m in height, and maintained the ball-like shape, but they now fired a very powerful acid ball surrounding a tiny Zerg organism. Using their massive bodies to squeeze the acid ball via the psionic catapult, a Devourer can send its payload for nearly 1km. Upon impact against the enemy, the acid ball clog up enemy's weapons, while the organism inside would obliterate the Zerg Khaydarine Crystal inside itself, causing massive psionic devastation similar to Psi Storm, which could cripple enemy's electronic systems.

Guardians and Brood Lords were also improved in size as well. Guardians were now nearly 90m in width, and Brood Lords were 100m in width. Guardians gained powerful shield, and two Spore Cannons to fight off enemy fighters. Thus gaining protection against enemies that it could not before, Guardians were now able to fire its new deadlier weapons. They now fired psionically charged super-fast acids that came in two versions. The Pyro-Acid and Cryo-Acid could be chosen by the Guardian to be fired across almost 5km. As for the Brood Lords, they were now carrying up to ten Broodlings at once, and were capable of firing up to five Broodlings at once, and at much greater range, rate and velocity. While in space, a Brood Lord can shoot Broodlings at 30km/s at a range of 5km, and could fire five Broodlings every ten seconds or one Broodling every two seconds. Each Broodling would be encased in shield and emitting disruptor field to enhance their armor penetration.

While these creatures would work as fighters and bombers, and Krakenlisk as a corvette, there was the issue of Scourges and the Scourer. A Scourer was almost identical to a Brood Lord, except for the tail that a Scourer did not have. A Scourer worked very much like a Brood Lord, except it fired Scourges. Unlike Broodlings, however, Scourges could change course or move about in totally different manner. They could easily change course and hit the nearest enemy. Whatever the case, the Scourers got the same kind of upgrades as the Brood Lords. It was the Scourges that gained significant upgrades. Now born with tiny Khaydarin Crystal, they moved faster and were more maneuverable. Not only that, they had gained strong new skin that resisted minor damages that would have killed the previous generation of Scourges. Also, they emitted same sort of disruptor field as the Broodlings got, but unlike the Broodlings, the Scourges' disruptor field protected the Scourge from flak or such by pushing away the shrapnel or missiles. The plasma metamorphosis of Scourges were evolved also, and the explosion was louder and with greater intensity of heat and area of effect. Also, the Scourges born from Larvae came in four like the Zerglings, thus allowing my Swarm to have great hosts of Scourges. Another improvements on the Scourges was that the Khaydarin Crystal shard had allowed the small creature to stay alive and active indefinitely as long as they were within the field of Swarm's psionic control.

The problem still remained of scales.

This universe was filled with horrifying creatures and mighty battleships that dwarf entire fleets of ships from StarTrek universe. Seriously, when James was still human back in his own dimension, he looked up '40K ship size comparison' on Google, and the pictures showed how massive these ships were. Even a tiny Cobra-class Destroyer, one of the smallest of the Imperial Navy's vessel was 1500m long. A tiny Cobra-class Destroyer was bigger than an Acclamator-class Cruiser in StarWars, and even an Acclamator was huge! The only creature in my Swarm that was closest to a Cobra-class Destroyer in size was the Leviathan. I needed to rethink and redesign the Leviathan. So, I did, and came up with Leviathan Mk2 as well as several other large space-faring creatures to ferry my Zerg and combat enemy's space navy, and they were beautiful.

The Leviathan was redesigned with new role in mind. It should be a light carrier as well as being escorts to even bigger creatures that would be grown in near future. I deliberately made two different Leviathans. The smaller one was still called the Leviathan, but it was now about 1km long, and as wide and tall. The basic shape remained same. However, considering its size and role, it now gained thick carapace around the rear section and powerful shield to protect itself while its 24 massive tentacles with Psi Blade capacity could take down any enemy in range. It also fired Bile Swarm like the original, though in much greater numbers with longer range and greater projectile velocity. It could use Overseer's Contaminate ability in a wide area that affects every kind of unit not just the buildings, and it gave up the Bio-plasmid for a Protoss-based Molecular De-harmonizer, a deadly pulse of energy that literally breaks bonds between molecules.

The second type grown from the Leviathan was the Tiamat. Reaching nearly 2km in length, it was more elongated and lean than the Leviathan. While Leviathan was a light carrier and a transport, the Tiamat was the Zerg's first combat-only space-faring creature. Instead of Mutalisks and Brood Lords, the Tiamat spawns scores of Scourges and Banelings, and then flings them at incredible speed after impregnating them with psionic energy to add Psi Blade's armor piercing aspect in its living munitions. It also had the same 24 tentacles of a Leviathan, but the tentacles were longer and they retreated back into the Tiamat's body rather then hanging loose like those of the Leviathan's. The Tiamat tentacles would shoot out at incredible speed and agility and pierce enemy armor with their deadly Warp Blade covering the metallic thorn at the end of the tentacles. More than that, however, was the cybernetics with Protoss technology. While I had other creatures experimented with fusing Protoss tech with my Zerg, the Tiamat was the first on a proper scale and use. On its back, there were a dozen turrets of Protoss Immortal, though they looked more organic, having been made by the psionic powers of the Swarm and at the hands of brainless human bodies. These powerful turrets would tear apart any fighters that enemies could send against the Tiamat, while the Tiamat's dragon-like head breathed out large balls of Phase Disruptor, very much like the projectiles fired by Photon Cannons but multiplied in size by a factor of a thousand.

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><p><strong>Year 20 AC(After Conquest)<strong>

So, it has been like 20 years since I've chased away Judanus and wiped out Orks and such. Now, the planet was rather overpopulated. I suppose I was overcompensating a little. There were like 218 billion Zerglings now. I had multiplied Zergling production about ten years ago, so now there were more. Actually, there were a lot of other creatures too, now that I've literally covered every piece of exposed land with Creep. There were billions of other creatures too, but if I counted Drones and tiny minor creatures as well, we nearly reached a population of nearly 900 billion. There were more volcanic agitation though, since finding mineral resources from surface mining had become harder. We drilled deeper and with the perfection of Mineral Coagulator technology, mineral formations sprouted all over the volcanic regions, making it easy for my Drones to mine them.

Overhead, the Warp Storm had retreated greatly from the planet itself. While the Warp Storm had once nearly touched the thermosphere of the planet's atmosphere, now the Warp Storm had retreated nearly 30,000km from the planet over the years. I take the credit of it since I had continued to consume the Warp Storm over the years. Of course, I did not make the mistake of biting off more than I could chew. Besides, fed by the processes of purifying and refining the Warp Storm that I have consumed, the Khaydarin Crystals grew to immense proportions across my planet. At least a thousand Khaydarin Crystal formations as big as a Hatchery were found all over the planet, particularly in regions where Overminds and their variants frequented. These Khaydarin Crystals allowed faster processing of Warp energy with even greater volume. Yet, the Warp was infinitely powerful. No matter how much I consume, the Warp Storm's dissipation was hastened only by a tiny margin. Also, the daemons kept coming. At least the daemons were kind enough to have their essense absorbed by my creatures once killed by them, but still, the battles raged on every time I bit off a little more of the Warp Storm.

I suppose that daemons weren't here just for the killing. They were also attracted by the immense psychic talents of my humans. There were about two million of them now, divided among about two thousand different villages. Each village contained five hundred males and five hundred females. When the whole thing started, they were but very young children. So, I had to feed them, nurture them and educate them. Without adults, their original culture began to fade fast, and only very few remembered anything from before. I let the children bond with Zerg creatures. Many took Zerglings for their bonded creature, while some of children with greater psychic gifts took Roaches, Hydralisks, Mutalisks or even an Ultralisk. They were given mostly-human food, though their foods were laced with chemicals designed to enhance their psychic control. Soon, they grew up, managed by Alena and my other human commanders. Each village was given plenty of land to cultivate grains and vegetables, while the meat came from my Zerg, since they were compatible for human to eat. As the children grew, I handed over the farming to their more competent hands. They put harnesses on Roaches, taught by Volran, and farmed the lands.

Of course, most of these children's lives were devoted into mastering their psychic powers, while pouring excess energy into the large Khaydarin Crystal pylon in the middle of each village. As they grew up, some of the boys and girls fell in love, and others were arranged by me to mate. Since I did not raise them with the idea of marriage or monogamy, the children were either having sex for pleasure or for reproductive purposes as laid down by me. I wanted to create more humans with psyker brains. It wasn't long before most of the female population fell pregnant, and those who turned out to have problem conceiving or carrying a child were quickly rounded up and sent to the Primary Hive Cluster, where their brains were extracted, and their bodies put into the Organic Factories to work. Their psyker brains were critical resource and very difficult to cultivate to right level. Only those of greatest potential were saved from the fate of having their brains removed. At the age of twenty five, the humans were collected and had their brains extracted.

Only around 0.001% of the entire population had psyker powers significant enough to avoid the brain extraction. Each time one such being was found just before their brain removal, they were taken to a council of my commanders. There, the young psyker could choose to serve a discipline among my commanders. Alena, the Princess of the Swarm, was the Psyker Lord of the Swarm. Elric, the father of Alena, was the Lord Commander of my ground forces, his versatile and flexible tactics and strategies have grown great, and now he had some psychic powers too, since it came with his latest body. Hargen, the Lord General of my air forces, was quite popular among the female psykers as they enjoyed the idea of flying. Volran, the Master of the Ultralisks had a reputation for his heavy-handed tactics, and penchant for overkill. Last, was the Blood Master, the corrupted Astartes. He was not there to represent my Zerg Marines, since they were still quite far from even being established. He was there was the Lord of Spylings. While other commanders offered training in their own disciplines, the Blood Master offered a chance to receive a Spyling. This special Spyling offered to the candidate would contain all the knowledge needed for covert operations but without its own personality. While the candidate would have his or her brain consumed, they would be reborn as the Spyling residing inside their own skulls.

Even as I created by officer cadre from the potent psykers armed and protected by the Khaydarin Crystals and powerful psionic leash around their souls, I looked to the skies. While the troposphere and stratosphere were full of Overlords, Mutalisks, Corruptors and other lesser creatures of air, the mesophere was littered with Overseers, Hiveseers, Brood Lords and Guardians. In the thermosphere above them, were the giant creatures. A thousand Leviathans and two hundred Tiamats floated there, guarding hundreds of huge floating cocoons that hung in the air. Supported by tens of thousands of Overlords lifting them up and several hundred Overseers directed by dozens of Hiveseer pouring psionic energy into the cocoons, they would soon hatch even more Leviathans and Tiamats.

Yet, there were even greater creatures out there in space. Beyond the thermosphere, a score of enormous cocoons were located amid the broken pieces of the lost Imperial ship from which the Imperial humans escaped from. There were already results. A dozen enormous creatures vaguely looking like giant dragonflies were floating there, escorted by thousands of Mutalisks. These were Raidens, named after the Japanese god of thunder. They were like giant 3km-long dragonflies with four pairs of very thick wings. Unfortunately, the wings were not really for flying. With the span of nearly 1km, they were made up of highly metallic fibers protruding from sturdy skeletal frame. They they flap these wings, they create a veritable storm of lightning that they can send in any direction as a ball of lightning that can cripple any unprotected electric system. Their relatively thin cylindrical body, mere 50m in radius, could bend. Like a dragonfly mating, the Raiden can lay an egg within a second. The egg is about the size of a Space Marine Drop Pod, but it is actually a psionic bomb that explodes in such manner that a large area of space around it becomes highly volatile for up to an hour, often opening up scores of Warp rifts through which daemons of Chaos could enter reality. While seemingly fragile, these Raidens were heavily defended. Protected at basic level with all the Hardened Shield and carapace of Leviathans and Tiamats, the Raidens are also protected by a powerful electromagnetic fields automatically generated by its wings. It is so powerful that I suspected that beam weapons like Lances would veer away from it. Its body is also protected by hundreds of Spore Crawlers and Immortal turrets, while the head of the Raiden is protected by the a dozen tentacles equipped with Protoss Void Ray's Prismatic Beam array, allowing the Raidn to assail a large enemies in close combat as well.

The Hive Ship was the next level. Now, the name Hive Ship is everywhere, and I took one. In fact, I took the design of Wraith Hive ship from Stargate Atlantis as the basis of this particular creature. It took the general dagger-like shape, with two main muscle groups formed in parallel, and with central section left open to work as hangers. Wraith Hive ships had those tiny modules protruding from the side, but my Hive Ship had a dozen giant tentacles with Guardians stuck on the end, allowing the Hive Ship to fire deadly barrage of psionically charged Acid bolts in any direction, and the tentacles retracted when not needed. Underside of a Wraith Hive Ship had two large circular modules, most likely gravity engine that would allow the Wraith Hive Ship to land and lift off. My Hive Ship did not land on planets, so I put some orbital bombardment capability there. Scores of pores on those modules would fire large but slow balls of chemical encased in thin membrane reinforced by psionic energy. Once the membrane is cracked, the chemical would bond with the Khaydarine shard inside it, and explode like Fuel Air Bomb, but with psionic pulse that burns away any minor shields. So, Space Marines and Chaos Marines would have to forget about somehow surviving the orbital attacks by the powers of their precious Iron Halos or Rosarius.

Moreover, the Zerg Hive Ship worked as a heavy carrier also. The section that formed the empty space in the front section of the ship was lined with a dozen specially modified Greater Spires, and they contained within them cocoons of Mutalisks and Gattlisks by their hundreds, and with the capability to spawn hundreds more within the matter of minutes. The empty space was actually useful place, as my Hive Ship was capable of giving birth to Leviathans. Three Leviathans could fit in that space, which is indicative of the nearly 8km-long size of the Zerg Hive Ship. Along the hull protected by carapace and Creep, there were thousands of Spore Crawlers and Spine Crawlers, defending the ship from enemy fighters or landed enemy units. Across the sides of this huge vessel were 200 Immortal turrets, one hundred turrents located on each side. They would provide the much lacking broadside capability of my space creatures. However, the primary weapons of the Zerg Hive were not its Mutalisks or the Immortal turrets. The primary weapons were the hundreds of holes across the entirety of the ship. These holes were large enough to fit in an Ultralisk, and from these, the Hive Ship would fire specially evolved Banelings at nearly one tenth of the speed of light across almost 10,000km.

These Baneling Cannons works very much like railguns, but using psionic powers to fire a ball made up of a Khaydarin shard and a dozen very large special Banelings with special acid in their body. The psionic powers of the Khaydarin shard forms a ball of shield that protects its payload against enemy point-defense. Once it reaches the target, the Khaydarin shards explodes, sending the Banelings to spread in a perfect circle of 10m radius, upon where the Banelings exploded in a shower of acid cloud. Instead of dissolving the hull of the enemy, this acid cloud reacts with the grains of the exploded Khaydarin shards to undergo nuclear fission. So, basically, my Zerg Hive Ship fired nuclear arsenal against enemy ships. Also, the Baneling Cannons fired in flak mode, where they launch a ball of Scourges.

Now, while my Hive Ships were going to be massive, they were still small. They barely matched the Imperial ships. When the Tyranids come, they will come with Hive Ships of simply humungous size that even I could not conceive a the moment. I had other designs, but it would take more time.

Leaving the construction of my space fleet to my Hiveseers, I turned to the matter of the future plans.

I was going to invade the galaxy like it had never been invaded before. Unlike the Eldar, the Tyranids, the Necrons, the Tau, the Imperials and the Chaos, we had something else for Faster Than Light travels. We could form wormholes, build Protoss Warpgates (which worked on totally different principles), or I could send a special creature and do a Mass Recall. Whatever the case, I had enormous advantage in agility of my invasion. As for the great distances, I would prepare special Khaydarin beacons to be placed around the galaxy, and hidden and protected by a small fleet of Zerg creatures. Then I would fold them in space, this way, nobody would notice the beacons unless they physically bumped into them. I also had plans to build mobile bases using asteroids, and once the Warp Storm cleared, I could reach the nearest asteroid belt without a problem.

Ah, it was good to be the Overmind.

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><p><strong>END OF CHAPTER 41 - END OF PART 1<strong>

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><p><strong>+++++ Astropath Communicae 738.M41-945.A85-42A +++++<strong>

**Sender:**_ Inquisitor Lord Vaigal Meitron, Ordo Hereticus++_

**Receiver:**_ Inquisitor Hadrian, Ordo Xenos ++_

++**Location:** Segmentum Pacificus - Vessel - Inquisition Black Ship 'Boundless Hate'+

-+-**Thought of the day****:**_** Cast out the mutant, the traitor, the heretic. For every enemy without there are a hundred within.**_ -+-

+**Concerning:** Istandor Subsector – Riax Sector – Segmentum Pacificus+

+Hadrian, my old friend. We have received a word from** Interrogator Yelg** of** Inquisitor Namon, Ordo Hereticus**.+

+Namon is missing, presumed dead.+

+He has been investigating a rise in heretical rebellions in Riax Sector and surrounding subsectors.+

+**Istandor Subsecto**r has gone silent.+

+**Riax Sector** must be defended. It is the last Imperial Sector in the region.+

+If the Riax Sector falls and the **Forge World Rin IV** and **Hive World Riax III** falls, then it would be a disaster.+

+Subsectors **Muron** and **Irox** are mostly in Ork hands, and the Segmentum Command has sent a liberation fleet.+

+Subsectors **Iduras** and Sitron are half devoured by **Warp Storm Desig. 2911.3 '_Maw of Kali_'**.+

+Istandor Subsector is the last free subsector that provides massive amounts of munitions to the Riax Sector.+

+It must be defended.+

+A disturbing report has come in. Unknown xeno attacks around the Istandor subsector before it went silent.+

+There are no Ordo Xenos Inquisitor near there, and you are the only one in the Segmentum that I could trust.+

+Whatever resource you need, you will have it.+

+**Emperor Protects**.+

**+++END COMMUNICAE+++**


	42. Chapter 42

New CHAPTER!  
>It's the start of Part 2, and we have new characters and some familiar ones.<br>SergeantCyrus of Blood Ravens and Captain Titus of Ultramarines will be involved.

I want to remind you that Part 2 will be highly character-oriented, meaning that there will be a lot of interactions and combats by Alena, Elric, Hargen, Volran, Blood Master rather than Overmind. Overmind will return here and there, but his bit most ended with Part 1.

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><p><strong>NOTE<strong>: In this story, the time-line has changed. The events of '_**Dawn of War 2**_' has not happened yet, while events of '_**Space Marine**_' has happened earlier than in canon fluff. So, Captain Titus of Ultramarines 2nd Company has saved Graia and the Blood Ravens who aided him are pre-Aurelian Crusade. Yes, Azariah Kyras is still the Chapter Master, while the Tyranids have not arrived in the galaxy just yet.

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 42 - Part 2<span>**

**Milky Way Galaxy**

**Segmentum Pacificus**

**Penedros Subsector**

**Urdrosia System**

**738.739.M41**

The Thunderhawk bearing the marks of Black Templars finally managed to reach the lone ship on the far side of planet Urdrosia II, a volcanic world that boiled in constant firestorms. The Imperial attention was not on the uninhabitable planet but rather its only moon Urdros Alpha, a rocky moon with enormous quantities of promethium buried beneath its thin crust. A single starport with Imperial Guard fortress, three massive domed-cities, seven major refining stations and three thousand automated pumps littered the drab-colored surface of the moon as they continued to export the fuel across the entire sector, particularly to Hydraphur, the Segmentum Fortress and the Fleet Base of the Segmentum's Imperial Navy. Many ships came across this moon, seeking fuel, and if they were pirates or of Chaos, they would be blasted away by the seventy-two automated Lance-mounted defense satellites built during the early ages of the Imperium.

It was here that the Black Templar Strike Cruiser exited the Warp, and sent the lone prisoner aboard their Thunderhawk. They did not consider the man a prisoner any longer, but since he was still technically under suspicion, they had to keep wary eye on the man... on the Astartes. The Thunderhawk carried none other than Captain Titus of the Ultramarine's famous 2nd Company. For nearly five years, he had been under investigation by Inquisitor Thrax on the charge that he was tainted with Warp. Being of Ordo Hereticus, Inquisitor Thrax attempted to coax any heretical signs from the Captain, but he turned out to be clean. Then the Ordo Malleus was called, and again, he was clean. Yet, something happened. Perhaps it was the politics of the High Lords, or that the Ultramarines had selected a new Captain for the 2nd Company. Titus had not been informed that his place among the Ultramarines was lost now, and the Inquisitor had no idea what to do with the Captain. If he was to be declared utterly clean, then the Ultramarines may accuse Thrax of inappropriate actions, particularly now that Leandros was declared a heretic by the new Captain of the 2nd Company. Because of this, Thrax was now made to look like a fool who believed the word of a heretic to accuse a righteous Captain of the Ultramarine 2nd Company.

Perhaps it was a lucky chance that someone requested the person of Captain Titus, and Thrax was glad to hand him over.

-We have arrived.-

The Black Templar pilot informed the five Astartes in the carriage section.

"Thank you, brother. Captain Titus, are you ready?"

The senior among the Black Templar Initiates spoke to Titus.

"I am always ready, yet I cannot stop being curious as to where I am being sent with all my weapons and wargears returned to me."

"We are approaching a vessel designated 'Boundless Hate', an Inquisition Black Ship."

"Another bout of interrogation from Inquisition?"

"We do not know either Captain."

The Thunderhawk landed with heavy thud, and the five Marines descended the ramp to the hanger deck where a man with ornately decorated carapace armor with cloak and hood greeted them with four armed Servitors. The man in hood had a seal of Inquisition on his chest, but this man was clearly not an Inquisitor.

"Lords Astartes, welcome to my master's vessel 'Boundless Hate' of Ordo Xenos."

Titus bewildered.

"Ordo Xenos?"

The man nodded.

"Yes, Captain Titus. Please, come with me to see the Inquisitor. Lords Astartes of Black Templars, the Inquisitor thanks you for your efforts, and now you may return to your ship."

The Black Templars shook their heads.

"Although he has been cleared, there is no declaration of his innocence. He must be guarded by Astartes."

The hooded man chuckled.

"We have Astartes aboard, my lords. The Deathwatch are quite capable of handling Captain Titus should the unlikely happen and he goes feral."

Then the Black Templars saw five Astartes stepping out from the shadows. Titus quickly made note that there were Novamarines, White Consuls, Angels Encarmine, Excutioners, and the lone Librarian appearing behind the hooded man was a Dark Angel. After a moment of tension, the Black Templars lowered their bolters and left Titus to the Deathwatch. Upon witnessing the Thunderhawk leave, the hooded man lifted his hood and introduced himself.

"Welcome aboard 'Boundless Hate', Captain Titus. I am Interrogator Godwynson. If you would follow me, I will take you to see the Inquisitor now."

"My thanks, Interrogator."

Titus noticed that the Deathwatch team had quickly retreated back into the shadows.

When the door opened and revealed a large conference room with powerful holographic display device in the middle, Titus quickly noticed that there was a man in the room already, and seeing ornately decorated Power Armor with a big symbol of Inquisition, he had no choice but to believe that this man was the Inquisitor. The man looked up from the book he had been holding in his hand.

""Welcome, Captain Titus. I hope your transport from Bakka was pleasant enough?" said Hadrian as he smiled broadly and offered Titus a seat beside him.

"It was a good journey, but a long one, Inquistor."

Titus said as he sat down, his armor clanking slightly. He made a note in his head to properly oil the armor next time he get around to it. Since Graia, he had no chance to maintaining his armor properly, and the sound was probably the displeasure of the Power Armor's Machine Spirit.

"Well, at least you have survived the incompetent hands of Thrax without any permanent injuries. I hear his methods are quite... extreme."

Hadrian spoke in veiled words that displayed neither real hostility to the Inquisitor Thrax nor to Titus.

"They can be extreme, but I was able to endure it. I was made stronger, and my faith remains pure."

Titus said gently, once again reminding Hadrian of Titus's humility. Despite being a Space Marine, Titus was still human, and lacked the arrogance of many of his battle brothers, particularly since he was from the Ultramarines. The Ultramarines often thought of themselves as the paramount among the Adeptus Astartes, which sometimes earned unnecessary enmity from other Astartes.

Hadrian smiled wider. He liked Titus. He had heard of his actions on Graia, but this Astartes had the humility to accept the judgement of the Inquisition, even in such circumstances. Offering Titus some caffeinated drink, the Ordo Xenos Inquisitor sat on his own seat, and turned his head to Titus once more.

"I'm sure you are wondering why you have not been returned to your chapter, and instead was delivered here to my personal ship 'Boundless Hate' so deep in the Segmentum Pacificus. Surely, if all the suspicions on your person has been removed, you would have been free to return to your chapter."

"I had wondered why I did not return to my chapter. My battle brothers could still use me."

"Perhaps you have not heard, Captain Titus. Your protege, Veteran Sergeant Cato Sicarius, has been promoted to your former position as the Captain of the 2nd Company. To many, such promotion is well deserved on his part, and some showed sorrows of your absence. Of course, a mighty and ancient Chapter such as your own Ultramarines must have its Captain in place. I hear that the first action of Captain Sicarius was to execute young Leandros for 'Wrongful Accusations against his Captain'. I was hoping to gauge your response to such news."

Hadrian did want to see if Titus was kind of a man who could be used or to be thrown away.

"I am sorry to hear Leandros is dead. He was young, still clinging to the Codex blindly. In time, he could have been a great Ultramarine."

Titus said, seemingly saddened by the news.

Hadrian was rather satisfied with Titus' answer. Smiling a little, Hadrian spoke further about Titus' situtation.

"The Inquisition has been made aware of a Xeno threat in the far corners of the Segmentum Pacificus, but they did not have anyone to deal with it... in such remote location. My contacts in the Inquisition requested that I take the case as there was no other Ordo Xenos Inquisitor nearby. In return for my services, I have requested that your person be transferred to me, so that I may judge you in the field of battles. The final judgment upon you has not been made, and in time, it shall be my duty to see if you are truly faithful."

Then as they took another sip of the tea, the door opened with smooth mechanical sound, and Interrogator Godwynson appeared with several data slates.

"Ah, you've met my Interrogator, have you not? He has come with the briefing materials for our mission. I am sure you would like to know what this is all about? We just need to wait for others... Here they are."

The door opened again, and eight Deathwatch Astartes entered, and Titus noticed the Ultramarine symbol and color on the skull-masked Chaptain of the Deathwatch.

"A brother Ultramarine?"

The Chaplain slowly removed his helmet, and Titus very surprised.

"Chaplain Matoras? I thought you were dead."

Titus said, his tone clearly indicating surprise.

"Young Titus, I thought you dead too, by the hands of none other than the Inquisition." said the Chaplain in deep bass tone.

His massive hulking body stood on the opposite side of Titus, as if to deliberately give distance between the brothers of the same Chapter. Other Deathwatch members stood behind the old Chaplain, and Titus could recognize all of their chapters, and that they were the same Astartes who came to greet him in the hanger. The Librarian was from Dark Angels, while five of the Battle Brothers were from Angels Encarmine, Novamarines, Executioners, Aurora Chapter, White Consuls, and the last member, a Scout Sergeant, was with Blood Raven markings.

"I have survived the Inquisition thus far. I still am awaiting final judgment."

Titus said, bowing his head. The chaplain was one of his mentors in the chapter when he was still a novice. They knew each other for over a century before Matoras disappeared, seemingly killed by the Orks on Tefela IV.

"And, like me, you have fallen into the hands of the infamous Inquisitor Hadrian. I wonder how long you will serve under him... I have seen many who were reluctant to leave his service. There is much glory and honor in his missions."

At Matora's compliments, Hardian bowed his head lightly in thanks.

"You jest, Lord Chaplain. I must say, Captain Titus, that you surprise me. In the three decades I have worked with him, I have not seen Chaplain Matoras speak so many words outside the Chapel giving his sermons. Haha!"

Then Titus turned to the Scout Sergeant of the Blood Ravens.

"Blood Raven. I fought with your chapter on Graia. They fought well."

Titus said, giving a nod of respect to the Scout Sergeant.

The Sergeant nodded in response.

"I am glad to hear that my brothers have aided you well, Captain."

As they spoke rest of the Inquisitor's Retinue arrived, and they instinctively stood behind Titus. Finally ready, the Interrogator Godwynson nodded to Hadrian, then turned to the rest of the group.

"My lords, if you will, I shall begin the briefing."

"Three weeks ago, Inquisitor Lord Vaigal Meitron of Ordo Hereticus was contacted by the Segmentum Command of the Segmentum Pacificus. A vox-recording message was relayed to the Segmentum Fortress at Hydraphur, and the original vox recording was this..."

Godwynson pressed a button, and the vox-recording played to the room.

_~... quest assis... ance... Argol II, in Istandor sub... is... und... ttack... Strange xenos... 've... never enc...tered before...~_

"This is the end of the recording."

The others sat silent, contemplating the message.

"A disturbing message. I believe we must act on what we know so far, and destroy the xeno threat."

Titus said after a moment.

Hadrian nodded, but he had much experiences in dealing with aliens.

"That is true, Captain Titus, but I have not gained my reputation as the Destroyer of Xenos for being rash in my actions. A single world may be important but often such messages are just symptoms of greater problem... or of an invasion."

He nodded to Godwynson to continue.

"Argol II is located on Argol System. There are three population centers: Argol I, a feudal world with population of nearly 600 million in the last census done at 200.M39, with two Imperial Guard Regiments and four million PDF. Also, Argail II is a moon that orbits Argol I. It is a jungle world with population of 9 million and three hundred thousand PDFs. It is strange that the xenos have first attacked Argol II rather than the population center."

"You assessment can wait, Interrogator. We need to see the whole picture before we can plan a counterattack."

Matoras rebuked the young Interrogator, and the Interrogator realized his mistake. Titus noticed that Hadrian's eyes narrow for a moment before returning to his smiley face.

Matoras had been with Hadrian for longer than the Interrogator, and the grizzly old Chaplain knew of Hadrians quirks and preferences. Despite his charming appearances and manner, Hadrian heavily relied on meticulous study of information without any bias or prejudice. Matoras thought that such powers of deduction had allowed Hadrian to succeed in stopping many xeno invasions.

"My apologies, lord Chaplain. Argol II is an agri-world, population 11 million, with a single half-strength Imperial Guard Regiment stationed there until they recover to full strength."

Hadrian stopped Godwynson there.

"When was this information gathered?"

"The date indicate that the information is from 700.M41, my lord."

"Then the information is off by at least several decades. We will need to know more about the current defenses of the subsector. We cannot enter this blind. Godwynson, we need to scale this back. I have this feeling that this xeno problem may not be localized. Tell me of the Riax Sector, its troubles, and why this Istandor Subsector seem particularly important beyond the fact it is, or was, still in the Imperial hands."

Others agreed, and so did Titus. Godwynson quickly changed the dataslate in his hand.

"Riax Sector, consisting of Riax Sector Proper, Iduras Subsector, Irox Subsector, Istandor Subsector, Muran Subsector and Sitron Subsector. Located on the edge of the Imperium and the Segmentum. The sector contains 32 populated systems, this includes several key strategic assets such as Forge World Inar V in Riax System, Industrial World Ishal which is the moon of Hive World Istandor II in the Istandor System. Currently Muran Subsector and Irox Subsector are under attack by 'Waaagh! Tuffang', that had spilled over from neighboring sector. At the moment, only four of eleven systems in the two subsectors are still under Imperial control."

There was silence at the grave situation of the Riax Sector. Hadrian paused before asking another question.

"What of the Warp Storm?"

"Sitron Subsector and Iduras Subsector are caught within the influence of the Warp Storm designated '2911.3' or 'Maw of Kali', named by Inquisitor Lord Berevian of Ordo Malleus."

The name of the Inquisitor Lord made Hadrian to look up sharply from the display of hologram display.

"Berevian? I heard he had died."

"He had rallied Imperial Guard forces to retake Iduras System from the invading daemons. Our records indicate that Lord Berevian, his entire retinue, unknown number of Grey Knights, nine Imperial Guard Regiments have been killed during the liberation campaign, seventeen years ago."

"Alright... the situation of Riax System is dire. Now, what of Istandor Subsector? Why is it so important that the Segmentum Command insists on sending us and several Imperial Guard Regiments?"

Then Titus and Deathwatch Space Marines all spun around and pointed their guns at the sudden sound of footstep. Two Techpriests stood there, one was an Enginseer while the other was a Magos, and a powerful one at that.

"Apologetic: Inquisitor Hadrian. The insistence of the Segmentum Command came on behest of the Mechanicus."

The voice of the Magos was so machine-like that it was hard to track the tone of the words, save for the earlier indication of the general tone that he would speak in.

"The Mechanicus?"

"Serious: This warning was received particularly seriously because of Argol II."

The Deathwatch Librarian from Dark Angels spoke up this time, his voice coarse from some sort of damage to his throat.

"The Agri-world? What could possibly interest the Mechanicus to that planet?"

"Serious: Upon hearing of this vox-recording, the Fabricator-General commanded search of the Mechanicus assets in the sector. We were willing to sacrifice Ishal when someone found records on Argol II."

Titus noticed that Hadrian's expression continued to get darker.

"What is on Argo II?"

The Magos turned his head to the Engineer and the lesser Techpriest took over the briefing.

"My lords, almost four thousand years ago, a rogue Magos of the Mechanicus had absconded to this remote world with several important technology. He built himself a mighty bastion of great defenses and somehow rallied a dozen Imperial Guard Regiments to bring the entire subsector under this rule. He used the manufacturing capacity of Ishal and population of Istandor II and the minerals of Ahalan V and VI, food from Vika II and Argo II to carve himself a small empire. Many rogue members of Mechanius joined him. There, they carried out terrible experiments and developed technologies too foul to even utter. Had the Imperial forces assailed the planet, the losses would have been devastating. Fortunately, this rogue Magos was assassinated by an agent of Officio Assassinorum when he had briefly left Argol II. Once that was done, his forces were scattered and the subsector was reclaimed."

Something clicked in his head, and Captain Titus came to understand why Argol II was important.

"What item is there that makes the planet that important?"

"Our records indicate that the rogue Magos had absconded with at least a dozen warheads of Virus Bombs... Exterminatus Grade."

The shock descended upon those in the meeting.

"If the warheads were properly maintained, they should still be able to obliterate a dozen worlds. If the Chaos or the Orks..."

The terrible ideas began to blossom.

"Worse yet..."

"WORSE? Do you mean to tell me there is something worse than twelve stolen Exterminatus-grade Virus Bombs?"

Cyrus, the Blood Raven's Scout Sergeant roared in horror.

"The Magos in question was a Magos Biologis, and it could be that he had modified the virus to even more potent version."

Silence continued. Then Hadrian spoke in soft voice, but it was heard by everyone.

"Our priority has changed. Magos Axkand, you must inform this to the Segmentum Command and the High Lords."

"Surprised: The honor of the Mechanicus..."

"Will be less damaged than if we let some unknown xeno race to take a dozen Virus Bombs of potentially greater potency. Imagine the kind of backlash that Mechanicus would suffer by having a dozen key Imperial worlds obliterated by our own weapon."

The Magos sighed.

"Resigned: I shall make appropriate contacts."

Hadrian turned to the rest of the room.

"Chaplain Matoras, I hope you will introduce Captain Titus to everyone, but we will have to do that while we are in transit. We must rally the Imperial forces to retake Argol II before the xenos find the Virus Bombs."

He turned to his apprentice.

"Godwynson, tell Captain Karlos to prepare for immediate Warp-travel. Our destination is Riax System."

"Yes, master."

Before leaving the conference room, Hadrian turned to those in the room once more.

"I cannot stress enough the importance of our mission, and the possibility of failure is simply too great. We must not fail."

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><p><strong>Milky Way Galaxy<strong>

**Segmentum Pacificus**

**Riax Sector Proper**

**Riax System**

**Riax III – Sector Capital**

**829.739.M41**

The month-long journey in the Warp should have given plenty of time to prepare, but as always, Warp was never so kind. By the time '_Boundless Hate_' had exited the Warp, a month went by in reality but only seven days had passed by the those aboard. There was barely enough time to prepare. Yet, they managed.

Captain Titus became a part of the Inquisitor's retinue. Hadrian kept a decent group of retinue with him, and with the addition of the Hero of Graia, the group's power had grown greatly. The first among the retinue was the Interrogator Godwynson, a young man of mid-thirties, he had taken over the position of the Interrogator when a senior Interrogator was shot in the back by an Ork Commando. Godwynson then saved Hadrian from the Dark Eldar, thereby being granted his position. Hadrian had great hopes for the young man, and though that would have made other men to become arrogant, Godwynson kept his humility intact.

Apart from Godwynson whom Titus quickly befriended, there was the Bodyguard. Lobos Numos was a Kasrkin from Cadia. This silent warrior was with Hadrian for as long as Matoras has been around. Saved from a certain death by Hadrian under unknown circumstances, he continued to protect Hadrian for many decades. Then there was Alexandros Filis, the pilot of the Inquisitor's personal Thunderhawk '_Deathbringer_'. The Enginseer Machas and the Magos Biologis Axkand were also of Inquisitor's retinue. Axkand would often advise Hadrian in xeno foe's weaknesses so that the Inquisitor could exploit such weaknesses at will. Now, Captain Titus had joined the group, empowering their previously lacking firepower.

Although the Inquisitor's retinue lacked firepower, it did not mean that the Inquisitor lacked command of heavy strikers. With him was the Deathwatch Kill-Team led by Chaplain Matoras and Epistolary Harax. The Kill-Team included Scout Sergeant Cyrus and Battle Brothers Iscansis, Julians, Arhaxis, Marcus and Valenis.

Chaplain Matoras was an old Chaplain of the Ultramarines. He was greatly respected and one of the star pupils of the Ortan Cassius, the current Master of Sanctity of the Ultramarines. Matoras was a great warrior and a greater Chaplain, and he could rally the Battle Brothers even in the direst encroachment of defeat. It was through Matoras that Titus became acquainted with others of the Deathwatch.

Epistolary Harax was indeed of Dark Angels, and he had been with the Deathwatch for nearly a century, and he had survived various enemies thus far. Scout Sergeant Cyrus was of the Blood Ravens, and this solemn and highly dangerous man was going to be a good ally to have on the battlefield. Iscansis was from the Angels Encarmine, and he preferred melee, always carrying a chainsword and bolt pistol, despite his station allowed him to choose more elaborate or powerful weapons. Julians was from Novamarines. He was an Assault Marine before being drafted into the Deathwatch, and he had now served under Hadrian for nearly a decade. Arhaxis of Executioners and Marcus of Aurora Chapter were close friends, and Matoras spoke of their deadly combination had slain many cadres of Ork Nobz and a Dark Eldar Archon. Finally, the only Devastator among the Deathwatch Kill-Team of Hadrian was brother Valenis of the White Consuls, and he was reputed to be a steady hand and calm head even amid the chaos of battle. Many a defense had been salvaged by the unrelenting Heavy Bolter fires of Valenis.

Of course, if the Deathwatch was Hadrian's only military strength, he could not have achieved all the things he had achieved throughout his long life. Not even counting the Imperial Navy officers and armsmen whose number totaled at over two hundred men, he has a small but elite Inquisitorial troops under his command. Led by Captain Synthos and Commissar Argains, Hadrians Inquisitorial troops numbered over two hundred Stormtroopers, and consisted of twelve squads, each squad armed with powerful weapons well beyond the likes of average Imperial Guards. These two hundred Stormtroopers were further augmented by a small battlegroup of vehicles. One Predator Annihilator, one Razorback with twin-linked Heavy Bolter, one Rhino, six Chimeras, one Hellhound, two Leman Russ thanks and five Sentinels were personally owned by the Inquisitor, serviced by the dozen Enginseers aboard the ship.

While the two hundred Stormtroopers, two hundred Naval Armsmen and a Deathwatch Kill-Team was his personal military strength, Hadrian also maintained a decent army of Imperial Guardsmen, commandeered with his position as a well-known and respected Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos. Aboard Boundless Hate, one full Imperial Guard Regiment was maintained. This Cadian 825th Shock Trooper Regiment was technically Cadian-raised Regiment, but it had seen so many battles without rest that it had once fallen to nearly 10% of its original strength. With their leadership lost and supplies running low, the Cadians fought the Orks with everything they've got, eventually destroying the Ork Waaagh!. Upon their victory, the 825th was in danger of disbanding when Hadrian took them in. Over the next nine decades of Hadrian's work, the 825th gained many new recruits from all over the Imperium, mostly from heroic regiments that were disbanded due to the low operational strength of the regiment after the battle. Now, the Cadian 825th was made of roughtly 25% Cadians, 10% from Krieg, 10% Catachan, 5% Elysian and 5% Harakoni, 5% Valhallans and 40% others. Also, great portion of these experienced soldiers were fitted with bionic limbs and organs, since they had been in so many battles and was injured so many times. Yet, all these made them into a deadly group of soldiers. Technically only 'commandeered' by Hadrian, most of these soldiers would give their lives for Hadrian, who had saved them from disappointing and honorless deaths on some forgotten rock way out there in the nowhere.

Titus stopped his thoughts. He had now remembered through every bit of information given to him by other members of Hadrian's retinue and by Chaplain Matoras. Now, it was time to prepare for battle. Techpriest Machas had repaired his Power Armor, still radiant in ultramarine blue. Unfortunately, Titus only had the weapons he carried with him when he was taken by Inquisitor Thrax. A bolter and a knife was not going to cut it if things turned bad.

"Are you mourning the lack of weapons, Captain?"

Titus turned his head to see Hadrian in what appeared to be an ancient Artificer Power Armour. It was beautiful. The chest was decorated with a massive two-headed Aquila whose talons held up a large 'I' to signify the Inquisition. Beneath the Aquila was a row of a dozen Purity Seals, whose parchments came down to about half of his thigh. Around the edges of the Aquila's wings and head were skulls of wrought silver, with eyes of ruby-like gems. On his left shoulder pauldron, a whole section in the shape of a cross was covered in black obsidian with golden writings on it. Around that pauldron were teeth of Orks, and from the sizes of each pair of fangs, they were all Nobz or bigger, indicating that the Inquisitor had slain at least fifty Ork Nobz or larger Orks. On the right shoulder pauldron, there was a small statue of Sanguinus, the Primarch of the Blood Angels. The golden statue with white-marble wings was so shrouded in powerful forcefield that a literal halo was forming around the head of the statue.

"You wear an impressive armor, Inquisitor."

"Thank you, Captain. In my many years of service, I've made more friends than enemies within the Imperium, and many of those have expressed their friendship with trinkets of such value that I've become immensely wealthy. Take this Iron Halo, for example."

Titus noticed the Iron Halo, a more ornate one than the one he wore on Graia. The Iron Halo's 'halo' section looked like a sliver of flame, each sliver looked as if they glowed.

"It had saved my head more than occasion, including direct sniper fire from a Chaos Marine with a Lascannon."

Now, that impressed Titus. The Iron Halo must be exceptionally powerful to block something like a shot from a Lascannon.

"This was a gift from the Imperial Fists. This Rosarius was made by the Adepta Sororitas of Ebon Chalice, and my left shoulder pauldron was one of the gifts from the Grey Knights. I even have this Psychic Hood from your Ultramarines."

Titus noticed the Psychic Hood only then, even so, the image was so blurred.

"You are a psyker?"

"This Psychic Hood hides itself and my soul from my enemies, effectively blinding them to the fact that I am a Gamma Level psyker with decades of experiences. More than one Eldar Farseer and Dark Eldar Archons have died from the surprise psychic attack. This gift from your chapter is one of my most cherished treasures."

"It is indeed a mighty gift."

Hadrian smiled.

"Why am I telling you all this? I have reason that I am hoping you would soon find."

Titus paused, he remembered what he was thinking before.

"The weapons."

"I wanted to describe to you that I have so many gifts and items that I've acquired over my decades of service and things inherited from my master, the Inquisitor Lord Grados. I have so many powerful weapons for you to arm yourself so that you may better serve the God Emperor in battle."

Then Hadrian handed a helmet to Titus. It was freshly painted blue, of Ultramarine color, but it was distinctively not a normal helmet.

"This is... Grey Knight's helmet."

"Another gift. It appears that for an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor, I've dabbled too many times in the affairs of the Ordo Malleus. It is now my gift to you, so that you may see the enemy clear and not lose your head."

"Thank you, Inquisitor."

"Now, let's go kill some xenos!"

* * *

><p>END OF CHAPTER 42<p> 


	43. Chapter 43

Well, here is the chapter that you've all been waiting for!  
>Although there isn't much of Zerg yet, you can seen one in this chapter.<br>Next chapter will be full-blown Imperial Guards vs endless hordes of Zerg!

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 43<span>**

**Riax Sector Proper**

**Riax System**

**Riax III – Sector Capital**

**837.739.M41**

"Three days... I was beginning to think that your respects to the Golden Throne and the Inquisition had thinned over the decades you've ascended to the position of the Sector Lord, Governor Corarius."

~Of course not, Inquisitor. I would never have dreamed of offending you! It was these miserably, incapable secretaries that had somehow positioned themselves around me...~

"If you are truly so incompetent, governor, then perhaps I should send a message to the High Lords that you may not be up to the job."

The Governor's face paled even more so, or such could be presumed since the screen that displayed his face only showed a light shade of grey with a tinge of green. The Inquisitor was in his full garb, staring harshly at the sweating governor of Riax III, who was also the Sector Lord. Normally, a Sector Lord would have enough political and military power to make even an Inquisitor cautious, but Hadrian had done his research. This Governor Corarius was hanging on to his position by the graces of the Imperium and its mighty Imperial Guards. Noble houses of Riax system maintained massive private armies that outnumbered the Governor's own forces by six to one, and it was only the Imperial garrison that reduced such ratio to two to one, much to the relief of the Governor. As long as the Imperial Guards maintained strong presence, his rule was solid.

~I will arrange our meeting right away, Inquisitor.~

Hadrian narrowed his eyes before nodding.

"Very well. I shall expect to meet you within the hour."

The communication ended. Titus and Matoras came up to the Inquisitor, followed by the Epistolary Harax of the Dark Angels. The Inquisitor turned to look at Matoras and Titus.

"Well? What did you think?"

Matoras growled.

"I think he had deliberately delayed meeting us for three days."

Titus agreed.

"He is hiding something. He does not wish us here."

Hadrian scoffed.

"Hiding? Hardly. He just doesn't want me drafting any of the Imperial Guard Regiment on this world. Each Regiment I take with me weakens his rule that much."

Though Titus was a world-weary man and knew how politics worked, he was still mildly surprised.

"Would not the fall of his subsectors be a greater threat to his rule? His authority could be questioned and challenged if the subsector falls."

Hadrian chuckled.

"If he could think ahead that much, we would not be in this situation. Three days is too much. Captain Titus and Chaplain Matoras, could you dress yourself in most menacing manner possible? I think we need to intimidate this man into submission, and take off with this fleet and soldiers before he regains his mind."

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><p><strong>Riax III – Sector Capital<strong>

**1 hour later**

The Valkyrie descended through the thick clouds. The planet was generally warm and had plenty of moisture, which had meant that the cloud layers were very thick and it rained constantly about half of the planet's solar cycle. The air was thick with moisture even through the closed and locked doors of the Valkyrie transport. Even as they descended, Hadrian could not help but feel a little agitated. Matoras had noticed it.

"What is it that clouds your thoughts, Inquisitor?"

"This is all too easy."

"Easy?"

Hadrian nodded.

"Men like Corarius doesn't just give up and let us through... Something does not feel right."

"Is it the psyker in you that is talking like this?"

Hadrian shook his head.

"If it was a sign from the Emperor, I would know it. May be I should cast the Emperor's Tarot and see whether..."

Boom!

Something exploded around the Valkyrie, and the pilot quickly swerved to evade the explosion.

"Alex!"

Alex was short for Alexandros, Hadrian's personal pilot.

-Sorry, Inquisitor, but we are taking flak. Someone on the ground does want us to land in one piece.-

"Well, there you go."

The vessel shook again as another explosion happened nearby.

-Prepare yourselves, we might have a rough landing.-

Boom! Boom!

Two more flak fire rocked the Valkyrie as Alexandros attempted various moves to evade them.

-We are nearly there, sirs. Hold on!-

The explosions still boomed across the sky, but they were missing their mark, or Alexandros was a very good pilot.

-Uh... uh oh!-

"What is it, Alex?"

Hadrian asked in curiosity as Alexandros mumbled.

-Some of the people down there are pointing and shooting lasguns at us. Oh... they got a Heavy Bolter now...-

Titus raised an eyebrow.

"Rather direct for a man that you assessed to be a coward, Inquisitor."

"Yeah... something is not right."

The ship veered away from the Governor's Spire once again as the palace guards set up a Heavy Bolter in the main open hanger.

-They looked like they were just ordered to shoot at us, and I'm betting that they haven't secured the outer hangers. I'm taking us there, sir.-

"Alright, Alex."

Indeed, the outer open hanger that protruded out on the side of the massive tower was empty of guards, but there were two men who hurried back into the building as to call some reinforcements.

"Get back to the ship and tell Harax of this. He will know what to do."

-Yes, Inquisitor.-

Hadrian turned to the two former Ultramarines.

"Are you ready?"

Matoras chuckled behind his terrifying skull-decorated helmet as he gripped his Crozius and bolt pistol tightly.

"We were made ready, Inquisitor."

Titus also nodded and steeled himself. He carried a bolter and a Power Axe.

"Then, here we go!"

Hadrian shouted as he fired his own bolt pistol at the eight men who just came out of the building and shouting and pointing at the Inquisitor's group.

* * *

><p><strong>15 minutes later<strong>

"That was rather disappointing."

Hadrian mused as he surveyed the group of Governor's personal guards who knelt down with their hands behind their heads and weapons knocked away from them. After a brief display of martial strength, the one hundred-strong guards of the Governor gave up. Of course, it did help that their numbers went from 100 to 72 within minutes of engagement.

"I rather not kill innocent humans unless I can help it, Inquisitor. I would rather my blades cut down heretics, xenoes and Chaos."

Titus remarked, and Hadrian shrugged. Matoras was still speaking to the men about how they were about to betray the Emperor by raising arms against the Inquisition.

Hadrian and Titus were standing in front of a large and ornate door that surely led to the Governor's Office.

"Shall we, Captain Titus?"

"Gladly."

With a single kick, Titus slammed open the door and entered it, taking cautious view of the large office with his hands on the bolter. Hadrian followed with his bolt pistol and Force Sword readied against anything.

Inside the office, they saw the chubby-looking Governor was sweating furiously with a laspistol in his quaking hand.

"Don't come any closer!" shouted the Governor.

The man was clearly an idiot, but the other man hiding in the shadows was not. Hadrian's attention was already off the idiot Governor and on to the mysterious man standing behind the Governor. Titus, too, had noticed this strange man.

"Who are you? What have you done with the Governor?" The man feigned ignorance.

"I've done nothing, lord Inquisitor." answered the man, his voice was trembling a little, enough to fool Titus with every facial muscle acting as that of a man terrified. Yet, Hadrian was not fooled.

"I am a psyker, fool. I can sense you are not quite who you say you are."

At the Inquisitor's words, Titus quickly brought his attention back to the strange man. The man chuckled darkly.

"Well, my disguise was perfect but I didn't prepare for a psyker."

"What are you?"

Hadrian didn't ask 'who' but 'what'. He knew that this was no man.

"Well, we are many and I am but one of many. This idiot, however, was too stupid even under my influence."

The mysterious man sneered, as the Governor turned to look at him with all the surprise in the eyes.

"What are you saying, Gaius? I trusted you like my own son!" shouted the Governor, only realizing the situation in that moment.

"That's why you are an idiot." said Gaius with unnatural calmness.

With a single motion, Gaius the strange man pierced the Governor's chest with a Power Sword that a Commissar would wear.

"Now, that's a twist that I saw it coming." Hadrian jested with serious face.

Titus slowly moved to the side of the room, while Hadrian kept the man's attention.

"So, what are you? An Eldar in disguise trying to pull some over the top plan to save one of your precious Craftworlds? Or are you some lackey of Chaos trying to distract me from my goals for whatever nefarious reason? You could always be a man who went insane, but then again, my psychic senses tell me that you are no ordinary man." Hadrian prodded the man, but Gaius shook his head.

"No, I'm not a man... I mean, I am not a human." replied Gaius.

Hadrian's eyes narrowed.

"You are a xeno." accused Hadrian, his voice now steeled with hate.

"Such labels hurt my feelings, Inquisitor. I have a name. My name is Gaius, and I work as the Chief Adviser to the Governor." Gaius answered the Inquisitor's accusation so cooly.

"No, you 'worked' as the Chief Adviser, now you are just a xeno about to die." spat Hadrian, focusing his psychic powers to figure out something about the creature.

"May be not on that 'die' part." chuckled Gaius, and Hadrian came upon a powerful yet equally dreadful revelation.

He quickly sent Titus a signal with his psychic powers. A single whisper from Hadrian's mind triggered Titus to move. With a blindingly fast move, Titus raised his bolter and fired four rounds into the creature. Unfortunately, the creature was much more powerful than he had expected. With reflexes equal or perhaps better than that of Titus, Gaius flicked his Power Sword and deflected the bolter rounds.

"That was close, Space Marine." sneered Gaius as he kept the guard up.

Titus frowned as he fired four more shots while moving to engage the creature.

"You will fall before me, xeno." muttered Titus with all his conviction as he truly believed it.

Just as Gaius deflected the bolter rounds, Titus' Power Axe slashed through the air, only to be blocked by a layer of skin-tight shield that flashed blue with honeycomb shapes.

"Very nice move, Space Marine."

Gaius thrust a jab with his sword, making Titus to back away a single step before averting the attack with his Power Axe. Gaius moved fast and his swordplay was sharp. Yet, Titus could not help but feel that the swordplay did not fit the man. Gaius was not a large man and he didn't have the strength of a Space Marine, yet his swordplay was like that of a Space Marine.

"Where did you learn these moves, xeno?" Titus questioned Gaius as the Power Axe locked against the Power Sword.

"From a fallen Astartes." answered the xeno spy.

In that moment, an arc of psychic lightning struck Gaius in the back, but was against blocked by a personal shield. It did, however, give an opening for Titus, and he kicked Gaius in the belly that was blocked by the shield but the impact pushed the man down to the ground.

"Filthy xeno! You are ended here!"

Titus roared as he slashed at the legs, hoping to disable the xeno spy's mobility. Yet, he had underestimated the enemy. Gaius rolled side ways, evading the attack by the skin of his teeth before throwing something into the air. Hadrian shouted as he covered his face and leaped out of the way.

"Grenade!" shouted Hadrian even as he ducked out of the way.

Titus noticed the grenade too, and he kicked it through the window, where it exploded right outside the window, showering the room with shattered glasses.

"Damn... He's gone." muttered Hadrian as he shook off the glass shards off his clothes.

Gaius had fled the room in that moment.

"He will turn up again, Inquisitor."

"I hope so, but that will be the work of someone else. We have a whole subsector to save."

"What of the Governor?

"With him dead, I will be the acting-Sector Lord until the Segmentum Command chooses someone or the nobles elect someone. Until the High Lords or someone from Administratum makes the final decision."

Titus nodded

"Then our objective here is completed." He said.

"Yes. Now, I can order some of these numerous Imperial Guard Regiments to fight in the Istandor Subsector." Hadrian mused.

In that moment, Matoras entered the chamber.

"Well, have you killed whoever you were fighting, young Titus?" asked Matoras as he surveyed the chamber and the destruction inside it.

Titus could do nothing but shake his head.

"No, I am afraid the xeno spy had fled in a moment of distraction." said Titus, shamed for his moment of laxity.

"Pay it no heed, Captain Titus. The creature's personal shield has been a shock to me as well." Hadrian said, his tone earnest about it.

Titus turned to see Hadrian standing over the dead Governor.

* * *

><p>Hadrian had maintained certain lightness about the whole affair but upon returning to his vessel, his demeanor changed dramatically.<p>

"We have a problem." said Hadrian as he strolled into the briefing room.

Other all tuned to his words at the grimness of his tone.

"I had only assumed that Istandor Subsector was under the threat of xeno invasion. This is much worse. The xenos have already infiltrated certain areas of Riax III, including the Governor's office. I expect that general unrest and rebellions are due here."

Titus began to understand.

"You did not trust those in the Governor's Spire… You thought them to be in league with the xenos."

"Yes, Captain Titus. Not only that, I felt it in the Warp. These xenos are something new." said Hadrian with dark conviction.

"This Gaius-creature seemed to drain the Warp around him. I could feel the corruption of the Chaos that is inherent in the Warp clear in its immediate surroundings."

"Wait? Isn't that a good thing?" interjected Cyrus of the Blood Ravens, his voice filled with curious caution.

However, it was Harax the Dark Angels Librarian who answered the Scout Sergeant's question.

"If it drains the Chaos from the Warp, then where does that enormous energy go, sergeant? Though the Warp and the Chaos are hateful enemies, we cannot deny that they hold great powers. They are most certainly dark and malignant powers, and if this creature devours the Warp, then this Gaius-creature is more dangerous than we know."

Hadrian nodded at the other psyker's assessment.

"For now, I will do nothing but draft the Imperial Guard Regiment to our cause." concluded the Inquisitor, drawing a frown from Titus.

Titus looked at Hadrian for further explanation.

"Are you suggesting that we abandon Riax III in the hands of unknown number of xeno spies who may or may not have infiltrated the highest echelons of its society?" questioned Titus.

Hadrian shook his head.

"I am Ordo Xenos Inquisitor, Captain Titus. However, if this creature can absorb the Chaos and the Warp surrounding it, then it is a matter not just for my Ordo but of the Ordo Malleus as well. I am going to contact an Inquisitor of Ordo Malleus so that they can send us someone to investigate this effect that the xeno has on the Warp, while I will take the ships and the Imperial Guards to fight the aliens." said Hadrian with finality clear in his words.

"Very well, Inquisitor. That sounds like correct course of action." answered Matoras, bringing Titus doubts to an end.

Hadrian sighed as he looked at a data slate he brought with him from the planet.

"I think I can draft two full Infantry Regiments of seventy eight thousand men in total, and an armored Regiment with thirty thousand men."

There was a pause.

"That's it?" asked Matoras, as surprised as others.

"Yes… While I can draft entire Regiments of Imperial Guards, I would be out of line if I drafted those already engaged in combat. It appears that Gaius had planned this very well. He has held up my plans to bring the might of the Imperial Guards against the xenos." muttered Hadrian as he slowly scratched the short beard on his chin.

"Five Regiments have been deployed against the Orks in Irox and Muron Subsectors, and they were sent away only four days ago. Six Regiments have been deployed against 'possible' Chaos incursions in Iduras and Sitron Subsectors. Discarding the fact that one full Regiment is stationed on each of the Riax Sector's own systems not under the authority of the Sector Lord, there are only seven Regiments left on Riax system that I can draft." sighed Hadrian as he continued to look through the data.

"And drafting more than three Regiments would put the planet at risk of falling to the hands of possible resurgent. From my findings of the planet's political situation, the local noble houses maintain total of nearly two million PDFs that they control." continued Harax as he put up some of the numbers on the holographic display.

Hadrian narrowed his eyes.

"What of the Governor's own forces?"

"Capital Hive was his stronghold, and though it has more than five hundred million civilians, PDFs under his command numbered no more than three hundred thousand." said Harax as he pushed the holographic number toward the Inquisitor.

Titus and Matoras watched as Hadrian's mind went to work. His mind began to consider and calculate every move that they could make.

"Damn it… If we had more time, we could have forced the local Nobles to submit, but we do not have the time." growled Hadrian as he slammed his fist against his palm.

"We will have to do with what we've got. Captain Titus, please see to it that the appropriate Imperial Guards Regiments are loaded to the fleet. I will have a word with the captains of the Imperial Navy. Chaplain Matoras, please see to it that my men are ready. We want to be ready for anything." Hadrian commanded without any hesitation or doubt about his orders.

"Godwynson."

"Yes, master?"

"I want you to take a team of Storm Troopers and keep this planet from falling apart. Take control of the Arbites and the local shrines. You will need their help in maintaining any semblance of control over the Capital Hive. Then, if the Nobles rise up in rebellion, hold on until help arrive. I do not believe that the Ordo Malleus will be late when I tell them about this xeno creature."

Hadrian's words gave credence and assurances that a normal man's words could not. They were not laced with psychic powers but they were filled with conviction and intelligence.

"Yes, master. I will not fail you."

"Beware of the xeno, Gaius, however. Keep a Sanctioned Psyker with you at all times."

"Yes, lord."

Hadrian turned to the Astartes.

"My friends, we stand upon the precipice once again. It is us against the hordes of xenos bent on the destruction of our worlds with no regards to the holy mandate of mankind. The lives of humans are far more precious than anything that xenos may have. To prey upon said human lives is a crime so foul that all nature cries out against it. We must not be hesitant. We must not fail. We will not fail."

At the Inquisitor's inspiring words, the Space Marines nodded in agreement.

"Aye, Inquisitor. We shall drive the xenos before us like taking scythe to the grass."

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><p><strong>Riax Sector – Istandor Subsector<strong>

**Istandor System**

**Istandor II – Subsector Capital**

**Ishal – Moon of Istandor II / Industrial World**

**877.739.M41**

"Inquisitor."

Hadrian turned at the coarse voice of Cyrus.

"I have the information we requested." said Cyrus, not showing any sign of emotion about his mission.

Behind him, the rest of the Deathwatch, Captain Titus, Colonels in command of the Imperial Guard Regiments arrived to the briefing.

They had all spent nearly ten days in the Warp, as the small fleet of Imperial ships sailed through the Warp to arrive at the Istandor Subsector. The fleet was now somewhat formidable for a remote sector like Riax. Beside the Inquisitor's own ship, there was the Lunar-class Cruiser 'Dogma Ultimatus' and the Tyrant-class Cruiser 'Incandescence of Hatred', two Dauntless-class Light Cruisers 'Dominatus Gamma' and 'Heretic's End', escorted by two Sword-class Escorts and a three-ship squadron of Cobra-class Destroyer. There were total of ten ships, big and small, and they were confident in victory by the reassurance of such numbers.

Not only there were ships, there were soldiers too. There were two full Infantry Regiments, 112nd Riax and 95th Riax, made up of Guardsmen supported by a small number of Chimera, Hellhounds and Sentinels. Each of them was just short of forty thousand men in each Regiment, which was around 75% of their full strength. However, in a remote sector with many problems, it was rare to see a day when they were at full strength.

The lack of full strength among the Infantry Regiments was supplemented by the presence of an Armored Regiment. The 79th Riax Armored Regiment was mostly Leman Russ Battle Tanks supported by small variants of Leman Russ tanks including Leman Russ Demolisher, Leman Russ Annihilator and Leman Russ Punisher. They also brought with them thirty Basilisk artillery tanks escorted by equal number of Hydra Flak tanks and ten Manticore tanks to reinforce the Regiment's long-range bombardment capability. Not only that, the Regiment also commanded one Stormlord, a Baneblade-chassis tank that was recently (mere 80 years ago) configured to deal with the massed Ork infantry in the Irox Subsector.

The only problem with this mighty force of armies and ships was the supply of ammunition and detailed information on their target, the Agri-world of Argol II, which supplied nearly 60% of food in the subsector. Of course, the real problem was that Argol II was the stronghold of a long-forgotten rogue Mechanicus Magos, who had hidden a dozen Exterminatus-grade Virus Bombs on the planet.

With everyone seated or standing, Cyrus plugged a small but still fist-sized data storage unit to the holographic display. After a moment, the holographic visualization of the Argol System appeared.

"This is Argol system," said Cyrus, his voice instantly grabbing the attention. "and it has two inhabited planets: Argol Primus and Argol Secondus. From Argol Tertius to Argol Septimus are all gas giants without significant moons. Argol II also has a populated moon, Argail II classified as a Feral Jungle World."

The hologram indicated Argol III to Argol VII and zoomed into Argol I and Argol II. Argol I was quickly displayed with a little box of information.

"Argol Primus is also a Phi Lambda, a Feral Jungle World with human population of less than two million. Its Imperial Governor has been dead for sixty years and no replacement has been sent."

Hadrian chuckled.

"So, basically the natives have had plenty of time to go wild on us."

"Yes, Inquisitor. Although we cannot expect any real aid from what remains of Imperial forces on Argol I, we may be able to use this space station as our base of operation." explained Cyrus as he pressed few buttons to display a small orbital station that was obviously smaller than a Lunar-class Cruiser.

"That's awfully small." commented one of the Colonels.

Cyrus did not answer but turned to the Techpriest and the Magos.

"It is an obsolete manned listening satellite. It has very little defense but it does have a powerful sensor systems we can use." said Machas the Techpriest.

Hadrian nodded in agreement before changing the subject.

"Now, let's focus on the real issue, Argol Secondus."

The hologram changed view and displayed the green planet with plenty of water. The planet was encrusted with a thin ring of asteroids and a small barren moon. There were also pictographic representations of defense satellites.

"This is Argol Secondus, and although it was an Agri-world, it has ancient Mechanicus defense systems protecting it." explained Cyrus, but he kept the real truth hidden in respects to the Mechanicus.

The Deathwatch and the Inquisitor's Retinue knew the truth about how the Virus Bombs were stolen, but the Imperial Guards did not know, and they were to be kept that way unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Wait, didn't you say the moon of the Argol Secondus was Argail Secondus? What of Argail Primus?" asked Titus, sudden interest peaking about the missing moon.

"This asteroid belt is all that remains of Argail Primus, which was recorded destroyed in M33 by unknown means and by unknown party." explained Cyrus.

Hadrian scratched his beard as he stared at the hologram.

"What do we know of Argail Secondus, Sergeant Cyrus?" asked the Inquisitor.

"Argail Secondus is a Phi Lambda with less than three hundred thousand human population protected by a single PDF Regiment of five thousand men. Of course, this record is more than two decades old, so there could be some discrepancy, Inquisitor." Cyrus answered.

"I see... Alright, what's next?"

"Argol Secondus." declared Cyrus as the hologram unfolded the planet into a flat map.

"Land to Sea ratio of 4.3 to 5.6, with 0.1 as ice on the polar regions. Population at eleven million during the last reported census. One Imperial Guard Regiment, the 16th Istandor Infantry Regiment with last estimated combat strength at 54% of its maximum fifty thousand Guardsmen." reported Cyrus, the same information coming up on the hologram.

"That's also from twenty years ago, sergeant?" asked Matoras.

"Yes, Chaplain. It appears that the local political upheavals on Istandor Secondus have made accurate census impossible."

"It also cost a lot of civilian lives and Imperial Guard Regiments," remarked Hadrian. "which comes to the fact that I wanted to draft more Regiments from Istandor Secondus, except that the whole damned planet is in the middle of a civil war that has been going on for twenty-two years with nobody noticing!" Hadrian shouted in momentary flare of anger.

The civil war on Istandor II had been on for 22 years, and nobody thought to report the civil war to the Sector Lord, even as Ishal, its moon and a Factory World, exported its ammunition products to the rest of the sector. Without Imperial intervention, the Istandor II's population dropped dramatically along with the Imperial Guard Regiments swept in the civil war. Once it had over 80 billion population with 48 Imperial Guard Regiments drafted into service. From there, the Istandor Regiments were sent to keep order on the whole of Istandor System, Ahalan System, Vanron System and Argol System. 18 Regiments were supposed to be dispatched all over the Subsector, and 15 Regiments to serve the Imperium at large, and remaining 15 Regiments were to protect their homeworld.

The 22 years of civil war had reduced the population to less than 50 billion, and there were only 12 Imperial Guard Regiments left on Istandor II, fighting each other in five-faction civil war that simply would not end. Of the 18 Regiments that were supposed to be dispatched throughout the Subsector, only 6 were dispatched and they were those who had been defeated in the civil war, and opted to choose banishment over death. The reason that 16th Istandor Regiment was recorded as half-strength was because it was defeated. They were transplanted to Argol II so that they surrendered but refused to join the survivors.

"At least they kept the Subsector going." remarked Arhaxis of the Excutioners.

"Amazing, isn't it? Despite being defeated and banished, the planets still pay their tithes and keeps the factories going and export their products." Harax the Librarian agreed.

"What it means, gentlemen, is that we have no additional men to take with us. Once the ammunition has been loaded, we are heading directly to Argol Secondus." declared Hadrian as he brought that part of the conversion to an end.

"Sergeant Cyrus, tell us about the defenses of Argol Secondus." asked Matoras.

"There are several key assets on the planet, most of them being assets of the Mechanicus. There is the Rugale Stronghold, the capital hive, populated by just over three million civilians. It is built upon an artificial island in an artificial lake connected the the outside on a narrow drawbridge that connects to the Rugale Fortress Bastion, a pentagonal fortress where the Imperial Guard Regiment is stationed at. There is also an Imperial Shrine built within a defensive complex that also houses the primary power generators for the laser cannons, a manufactorum complex that produces fertilizers for the farmland." said Cyrus.

"Laser cannons?" asked Titus.

Cyrus turned to Machas to answer the question.

"Yes, Captain. There are fifty towers of servo-operated laser cannons capable of anti-orbital attacks built around the region. They are concentrated around the Rugale Stronghold, the Imperial Shrine, the Manufactorum, three ancient Sensor Stations and a secondary Star Port that had been destroyed over a thousand years ago." answered the Techpriest.

"How many of these Laser Cannon Towers are operational?" asked Hadrian.

"It is hard to say, Inquisitor. However, my conservative guess is that at least twenty to twenty-five of them may remain operational."

"Would they cause any threat to our ships?" Matoras questioned the Techpriest.

"Cautiously: Not if we are outside their range." answered Axkand the Magos, instead of Machas.

"Warily: Laser Cannons are not our primary concern, Inquisitor."

"Then what is?" asked Hadrian.

"Concerned: Our report indicate that there is 95% chance that four of the twelve defense satellites may be operational and controlled from the Imperial Shrine complex. Should xenos figure out how to operate them, it may hinder our orbital approach." Axkand concluded.

Hadrian brooded over the issue for a moment before indicating the Rugale Fortress Bastion.

"The key in securing the planet would be to keep that Bastion out of enemy hands. With the Bastion firmly within our hands, it would be easy enough to use it as our base of operations on the planet. Tell me of the Bastion." Hadrian demanded.

Cyrus came forward again.

"There is not much detail on the Rugle Fortress Bastion except for the maintenance manifest for its heavy weapons."

"How many heavy weapons are we talking about, Sergeant?" asked Hadrian.

"The manifest indicate that there are four double-barrelled Turbo-laser Destructors, ten Earthshaker Platforms, four Manticore Weapons Platforms, eighteen Hydra Weapons Platforms, forty-eight Sabre Gun Platforms with Heavy Bolters, thirty-six Sabre Gun Platforms with Lascannons and twenty-four Sabre Gun Platforms with Autocannons, twelve Void Shield Generators protecting the Bastion in overlapping fields. The Bastion also comes with a hanger for maximum of fifteen Valkyries to land and operate from."

As Cyrus ended his report Hadrian looked at Axkand and Machas.

"What kind of Bastion has such numbers of heavy weapons?" asked Hadrian with incredulity clear in his face and tone.

"Exasperated: Our thoughts are one in this, Inquisitor. Such armament would be enough to fit nearly two ρ-class Research Stations." replied Axkand.

"However, this could mean that the Imperial Guard Regiment could still be alive and are defending themselves against the enemy." Machas suggested, gaining agreement among the commanders.

Even Hadrian nodded.

"Very well. Once the ammunition and fuel crates are loaded, we are heading directly to Argol System."

* * *

><p><strong>END OF CHAPTER 43<strong>


	44. Chapter 44

Well, since it has been a long while since I've updated, I decided to give you a double whammy... in one.

It's the extra long action chapter!

ENJOY!

**PS:** Someone alerted me to an important fluff.

"_Imperial navy doctrine is to have shields at half strength when approaching or orbiting a planet/oid. (Gothic War)_"

So, I've changed it. The reason that the shield was down was because of the 'strong electromagnetic current generated by the asteroid field'.

I know it's a flimsy excuse, but it's already written and void shield at half strength would not be as dramatic as shield off.

My thanks to the righteous fluff Nazi~

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 44<span>**

**Riax Sector – Istandor Subsector**

**Argol System**

**Argol II – Agri-world**

**Argail II – Moon of Argol II / Feral-World**

**945.739.M41**

Like bright flare of swirling light, a massive portal into the Immaterium appeared around the edge of the Argol system, and the Imperial fleet exited, their huge lumbering ships and paltry few escorts sliding gracefully through the vast emptiness between the planets. They saw the bright star that shined far away, whose size and brightness could easily be distinguished. The ships turned from their skewed vector and moved toward the sun, driving deeper into the solar system.

The first stellar object to encounter Imperial military might was Argail II, whose orbit had been right in the path of the arriving Imperial fleet. Within hours, a regiment of Imperial Guards unloaded from the landed ships and began to secure the sporadically located villages. Hadrian surmised that if Argol II was under xeno attack, then Argail II could also be affected. Enginseers began to construct makeshift fortifications at various strategic points, and leaving the ground forces with the support of a single Sword-class Escort, the fleet move on to their primary goal.

The planet Argol II was blue and green, lush with vegetations and its mild climate bound to the will of mankind. Surrounding the planet was a large set of rings made mostly of rocks. It was a not a sharp-looking set, and it was still in the process of formation. After all, it had been mere seven or eight thousand years since the moon Argail I was destroy by unknown reason. There were still plenty of large asteroids that floated just outside the rings or amid the rings, their existence yet to be completely subsumed by the gravitational forces exerted by the planet.

These asteroids formed a sort of protective barrier around the planet, and though it let through plenty of sunshine, it did hinder the approach of the Imperial fleet. The roving groups of metallic debris from the utterly shattered moon moved in surprising speed, whose relative velocity keeping them away from joining the ranks of the planet's main set of rings as well as posing enough threat to the fleet that they could not simply take the landing vector.

However, the planet was not isolated by any means. Much of the asteroids were now part of the planet's rings, and there were large openings and gaps among the sheets of asteroids that formed the protective barrier. While the polar-regions were free of asteroids, the composition of the asteroids had funneled incredible electro-magnetic currents out of the two polar-regions, making that approach equally dangerous.

There was no other choice left to the Imperial fleet, and they were forced to wait an hour for the large enough gap in the asteroid field to enter the upper atmosphere of the planet.

* * *

><p>Hadrian was fully armed and armored in preparation of what is to come. His armor gleamed in metallic glitter showing how well his servitors have polished them. His armor was a master-piece forged by the Argos, the Salamander Chapter's Master of the Forge. It was a beautiful piece of both art and war. Once worn by the ancient chapter's heroes, it was remade and turned into an artificer armor at the hands of the Salamander's Master Techmarine, and was eventually given to him by the Tu'shan, the Chapter Master of the Salamanders, after a critical mission had been successful thanks to Hadrian's selfless help.<p>

It was one of Hadrian's most cherished treasures. Hadrian often felt nigh-invincible in the armor, as its ancient, therefore superior, polarization generators allowed the armor to be extremely durable. Primitive weapons such as stubbers or autoguns would often find no purchase in Hadrian's armor, and only powerful weapons such as hellguns, bolters or heavier caliber weapons could inflict damage past the armor plating that was made magnitude stronger than what it should be without the polarization. The armor once withstood against a direct hit from a lascannon and allowed Hadrian to fight on.

He stood there in the bridge, watching over the huge holographic display of the planet in his gleaming black and silver armor, and he narrowed his eyes.

"How long will it be before we find a suitable entry vector?" He asked.

It was Machas who answered.

"Another hour and we will be in range of a large opening with thin layer of asteroids around it, my lord. We can began to fire Lances and lasers from the long range to widen the opening." The Techpriest claimed.

"How about the scans of the surface, Techpriest? Although landing is important, we need to know what is happening on the surface." Chaplain Matoras of the Deathwatch asked as he gazed over the display that lacked details.

"Our sensors are working as fast as they can, and our logic-engine will soon compute all information." No sooner Machas had said so, the hologram changed and detailed topography of the planet appeared.

The planet's continent was dotted with blue dots, which represented registered settlements according to the records, and it included several large blue dots with captions next to them.

"There." Hadrian pointed at the largest blue dot. "That's the Rugale Stronghold and the Rugale Fortress Bastion. Machas, run the biometric scans. I want to see how many humans remain in the city."

"Yes, lord." Machas quickened his pace as he pressed more buttons.

The hologram zoomed and the small blue dots around edges of the continent disappeared, leaving ten small dots, two larger dots and the Rugale Stronghold, which all turned orange and with numbers next to it.

"We are still detecting large numbers of life-forms classified as human, Inquisitor. There are still ten settlements that contain population and the Rugale Stronghold also has humans." The Techpriest reported.

"Incredible... They are still alive." Hadrian whispered. "Zoom into that region, bring up detailed scans of the area for bio-signs and match it with any topographic details."

The hologram changed into a flat map of the region where the humans still survived. Additional orange lights appeared all over the region, gathered around various strategic points that the topographic map indicated. Several groups of orange lights were gathered around the large bridges to the north of Rugale Stronghold that connected the northern regions and their three wide rivers that led down to the massive lake to the east end of the continent. The mountains to the north west were littered with small bands of orange lights, most of them blocking valleys and mountain passages, though some looked like artillery positions hidden on the sides of mountains. Others orange lights positioned themselves inside one of the large dots that indicated recorded structure in the west. It was a minor fortification blocking a wide passage between two large hills with fortified towers on top of them connected to the larger fortification by a series of walls, patrolled by thin lines of pale orange light.

While the east was closed off by the large natural lake and the rivers that reached north and south, the south had to be defended as they were doing in the north and the west. The south was more open than the west, where the many hills were littered with small fortifications linked with intermittently connected walls, or the north, where wide rivers and steep mountains made natural barriers. The south was defended by three things.

Firstly, there was a massive provincial wall reaching from the west for several hundred kilometers. These kinds of walls were not uncommon. They often reached a hundred meters in height or sometimes higher, and they were often hundreds of meters thick as well. Reinforced with ferrocrete and such that even the most powerful artillery pieces would find it near-impossible to break through such walls, and commanders opted to go around them rather than through them. These kinds of province-dividing walls were often unmanned, as their bulk was the key in their role as the obstacle. It funneled the enemy into narrower choke points where the defenders could concentrate fire. This was the case with the southern regions too.

Secondly, only a kilometer from where the wall ended was the Imperial Shrine complex with in-built shield and weapons, not to mention command facility to control the laser cannons that littered the countryside as well as the orbital weapons. It also appeared that the Imperial Shrine complex also harbored a designated area for an armored division of the Imperial Guard. The scan indicated many armored vehicles vigorously patrolling the surroundings.

Lastly, there appeared to be a large farm built upon a low but very large hill skirted with the river in the south. It was a good position too. The hill's east and south was protected by the wide river without a bridge, and it only had to defend the west. There was enough gap between the extent of the armored patrol from the Imperial Shrine complex and the hill to be dangerous, but the orange lights around the hill suggested a large number of artillery pieces with three additional artillery spots located between the armored patrols and the hill to turn the 'gap' into firing range with enemy as the target practice.

"Can we tell how many are Imperial Guards?" Hadrian asked, though he knew the answer too well.

"I am afraid not, Inquisitor. All I can tell you that there are at least three million people still left alive on the planet." Answered Machas.

"What of any other lifeforms?" Hadrian asked. "Are there xeno life signs?"

"Well, there are other life forms but they are unlike anything that we have ever encountered before. They appear to have at least two million individual life forms that we can detect on this side of the planet, but some of them are clustered together. These readings are... inconclusive at best, Inquisitor." Machas answered. "However, if we could get some samples, Lord Axkand could devise a way to scan for the xeno life signs."

Hadrian nodded. Then he turned to another matter.

"What of the defense satellites? I may not be a Techpriest, but these signs indicated that seven of twelve satellites are operational and powered. Will they be a problem?"

Machas paused as he too did some checking.

"I do not believe so, Inquisitor. However, I do have some energy signature trace which seems to indicate that the forces on the ground had used the weapons of the satellites against the surface positions across the planet, despite location of the asteroid field would have gravely reduced the impact and accuracy of the weapons." Machas finally answered, leaving more questions in the air.

"That suggest the defenders had the wits to use these ancient relics to fight against the xeno. Then why have they stopped if there are still millions of foes across this side of the planet?" Hadrian asked.

"I believe I may have an answer to that, my lord." Machas offered, bringing up an image on the holographic display.

In the hologram was a large structure that had a massive tower with many antennas on it. It was clearly Imperial in design, and had landing pads for smaller vehicles such as Valkyries or even a Thunderhawk.

"Inquisitor, this is Type-Epsilon Twenty Nine sensor array station fitted with two-way transceiver and signal relay function. This is where the satellites are controlled from." Machas explained.

"I thought you said that it was the Imperial Shrine that controlled the satellites." Hadrian frowned and interjected.

"The commands must be issued from the Imperial Shrine, but the signals from the Shrine can only reach the ground-based laser cannons. In order to pierce the magnetic field exerted by the asteroids, it requires a powerful sensor array that would deliver the signal to the satellites." The Techpriest said, making the hologram help his explanation with some arrows drawn upon it.

"I suppose that while the Imperial Shrine is still within Imperial Guard's hands, but the sensor array is not?" Titus asked, his bulk still overwhelming the armored Inquisitor in front of him.

"That is correct, Captain Titus. The sensor array is approximately seven kilometers north west from the Imperial Shrine, deep inside the xeno-controlled area." Machas nodded. "If we could set the sensor array's cogitators to fire upon any and all non-Imperial life forms, it would give us a massive advantage. We do not even need to retake the facility yet, we just need to set the cogitators."

Hadrian chuckled.

"I think we may have a job for you, Captain. While the Deathwatch and I head down to meet up with the Imperial Guard forces and reinforce their defenses, I need you to take a small team to reclaim the sensor array complex, or at least do that thing Machas spoke of. We need every advantage, particularly with all these asteroids blocking the fleet's weapons." Hadrian explained, and Titus nodded.

"It will be done, Inquisitor."

"I shall dispatch a Techpriest as well, Inquisitor. I am sure Lord Axkand can spare some of his Skitarii as well." Machas added.

"Good. Once the fleet is below the asteroid field, we shall begin our move."

"Yes, Inquisitor."

* * *

><p>The fleet opened fire as the nearest window came closer. Moving slowly but deliberately toward the projected course, the Imperial fleet used its Lances and laser cannon batteries at the larger asteroids that may interfere with the descent. Powerful beams of energy pierced through the metallic rocks and balls of ice, shattering the former and vaporizing the latter. The large oval shaped opening that was estimated to barely fit half the fleet began to widen, the asteroids surrounding the gap widening with every passing minute. Even so, the opening was not quite wide enough for a smooth descent into the atmosphere. Ships were forced to huddle together in tight formations, often challenging the helmsmen of their skills.<p>

Led by the Inquisitor's own ship, the Imperial fleet began to make their way past the layer of asteroids, and one by one, the Imperial ships began to glow brightly as the friction heated up the hull. Shields were off, which was not quite usual since the basic doctrine was to have the shield at half strength. However, even as the massive plasma fusion reactors that provided incredible amount of energy were quite capable of providing enough power to shield the ship even during controlled atmospheric descent, the strain on the shield generators were not something to ignore when faced with a strong electromagnetic currents generated by the asteroid field. Yet, on the hindsight, perhaps they should have descended with their shields on despite the possible damages to the shield generators.

Unseen and undetected by the Imperials, something else stirred in the asteroid fields. Several hundred medium to large asteroids began to break formation from their usual patterns of movement. These were asteroids that surrounded the two of the largest rocks in the asteroid field, and less than ten thousand kilometers from the slowly descending Imperial fleet. The lesser asteroids moved over the asteroid field, then with utterly unsuspected move, launched themselves at the Imperial fleet.

These space rocks were flung with such speed that nearly eight thousand kilometers of distance was crossed within nine seconds, and such were the speed and velocity of the asteroids that the Imperial fleet had very little window of warning before the rocks struck. The Imperials, however, were well-trained indeed. At the first sign of alarm, the captains of each respective ship alerted the weapons batteries to the rear underside of the ship. With the Imperial fleet trying to squeeze through the gap by going in a vertical vector, the ships were in grave danger from the enemies. After all, the rear section of the ship's underside had the least number of weapons, relatively speaking of course. While it would not matter if the ships were maneuverable, the Imperial fleet at that moment was stuck, and was forced to face the asteroids.

Among the nine ships of the fleet, four ships, Tyrant-class Cruiser 'Incandescence of Hatred', Dauntless-class Light Cruiser 'Heretic's End', a Sword-class Escort and one of the Cobra-class Destroyer, immediately turned scores of their guns at the flying rocks. _Incandescence of Hatred_ had two dozen laser cannons supported by a score of anti-fighter guns in that arc with four missile tubes, and it fired them all with a desperate volleys as the crew of the shield generator section attempted to bring the shield back online. Laser cannons that looked like super-sized version of lascannons fired their brightly colored beams with deadly accuracy even as missiles of big and small were launched at the rocks. Heretic's End also did the same, its design had been customized with more laser weapons than missiles, but it had other weapons like plasma projectors, rail guns and fusion beamers that fired in concentrated volleys to destroy the nearest incoming rocks.

The Cobra Destroyer and the Sword Escort, being much smaller than the ships they were guarding, managed to change their vector and were able to bring to bear their other weapons. However, the asteroids were upon them too quickly, and without warning. The Sword Escort had managed to raise its shield in time as the shattered fragments of the asteroid that it had just destroyed showered upon it. The Cobra Destroyer was not so lucky. Before it could raise shield, it was struck by a medium sized rock, only about few hundred meters in diameter, but it carried within it some strange field of energy that punched through the armored hull of the lesser ship. Indeed, other rocks were encased in such fields too, and these were detected too late by the ship's psykers. A residual field of telekinetic power that launched the rocks was still there, and it had allowed the crippling of the Cobra Destroyer.

The lesser ship, though sustained damage, continued to fire its weapons until it was overwhelmed by the dozens of rocks flung its way, eating away at the brave ship's defenses. Then a massive asteroid, easily a kilometer in radius thus dwarfing the (relatively) small Cobra-class Destroyer, slammed into the vessel, instantly turning the vessel into a broken wreck. Yet, it was this sacrifice of the Cobra Destroyer that the larger ships managed to raise their own shields in time. Though the larger ships had taken few rocks before the shield was up, their bulk could sustain such shots. The rocks, however, kept on coming.

It was not just the four ships outside the asteroid field that were attacked by the asteroids. The asteroid field also flung hundreds of meteors at the five ships already descending below the asteroid field. Blinded by the process of descent, the ships were quickly beset by the burning flying rocks slamming into them. The weapons and armor plating were cracked and broken as hundreds of meteors were flung at them at such speed. Shields were quickly raised, but the damage was already done. Hundreds of rocks exploded upon the armored hulls of the Imperial ships, and even though the ships were fine, the attack had surprised the Imperials.

Yet, the rocks were not the end but the beginning.

From the largest asteroids came thousands of xenos that the Imperials would later find out as 'Mutalisks'. Mutalisks flocked about and rushed at the Imperial ships in their tens of thousands, and still fending off the numerous asteroids flung at them, the Imperials could not counter the xeno fliers hiding their presence by following closely behind larger rocks. Then, when the asteroids were broken or the distance close enough, the Mutalisks appeared. Each of the three remaining ships outside the asteroid field were swarmed by thousands upon thousands of Mutalisks bypassed the weakened Void Shield that protected the ships, and they spewed their highly acidic Glaive Wurms at the thick armor plates of the Imperial ships.

Being small and organic, the Mutalisks could traverse the dangers of piercing a layer of Void Shield without being torn to shreds. Not all Mutalisks were lucky but most were, and thousands were able to get past the Void Shield and made contact with the ships themselves. However, the Swarm had underestimated one thing: the vessels of Imperial Navy are nothing if not tough. The thick armor plating of each ship was thick and hard enough to take hundreds of concentrated barrages of Mutalisks' attacks, and with scores or hundreds of anti-fighter turrets firing at them, Mutalisks could not so easily break through the armor. Still, the sacrifice of thousands of Mutalisks had done their work, and that was to reduce the anti-fighter weapons on the surface of the vessels. Once the Mutalisks engaging the fleet had lost thousands of their number in return to destroying or crippling much of the fleet's anti-fighter capabilities, the greater Zerg fliers appeared from behind the asteroids. Thousands of Corruptors and Devourers were supported by hundreds of Guardians and Broodlords.

With fresh enemies appearing, the three ships outside the asteroids decided not to take the chance when stuck in an asteroid field. They quickly reversed their engines, and even as the greater fliers of the Swarm bombarded the Void Shield with acids and spores, the ships pulled out from the asteroid field. The Swarm did not pursue them, for there were still five ships underneath the asteroid field.

The five ships that managed to pierce the asteroid fields were also beset. While Mutalisks they had to deal with were barely a thousand in number, the Swarm had sent Scourges instead. Hundreds of thousands of Scourges swarmed over the five ships, and the Void Shield was of very little use. Thousands of Scourges had exploded across the thick armors of the Imperial ships before the ships recalibrated their Void Shield to block out the tiny alien suicide flier. Also unable to withstand the barrages and attacks, particularly after thousands of Mutalisks appeared through the gap, the Inquisitor ordered the remaining fleet to head toward the North Pole, whose electromagnetic turbulences were more dangerous to living tissue than Void Shield-protected tin cans.

Even as they fled north, the greater Zerg fliers descended, giving pursuit to the Imperial fleet. All hope seemed lost when unlikely help came to them. Scores of positions around the planet suddenly fired lasers. The planet's defensive laser cannons on the planet's surface were operational and aiding the Imperials with their deadly weapons. Broodlords and Guardians, biggest among the fliers thus far displayed, were torn to shreds of burning flesh. Mutalisks and other fliers retreated quickly back to the asteroids as if they had suffered casualties before by the laser cannons.

* * *

><p>"Damn it! Status report!" Hadrian shouted even as the ship shuddered one last time.<p>

"The xeno fliers are retreating back into the upper atmosphere." One of the ship's officers reported.

"Well, at least we know that ground-based laser cannons are operational and in friendly hands. If we only had the satellites up and working, we could break the enemy's air-forces." Hadrian muttered.

"I agree, Inquisitor. It is clear that these xenos, whatever they are, have been hiding their fliers amid the asteroid fields." Matoras assessed as he asked Machas to bring out the captured images of enemy fliers.

"Analytical: The enemies are using fighter-level fliers of small size and great agility to bypass our shield and destroy much of our anti-fighter weapons." Magos Axkand spoke up finally, his third and fourth mechanical eyes carefully studying each of the captured images.

"That is why and how they could hide from our sensors by staying within the asteroid field," Matoras mused. "and for the defenders on the planet, those laser cannons on the ground had been the only deterrent against the xeno fliers."

"Grimly: Affirmative. That is the result of the analysis as well."

Thinking for a moment, Hadrian turned to Titus.

"Captain, we need to accelerate our plans. Assemble your team and reactivate the defense satellites. I shall send further reinforcements to secure the sensor array facility once you reactivate the satellites. If you cannot reactivate them, I will have you extracted instead, and we shall have to fight without super heavy armors." Hadrian ordered. "Those damned Baneblades are on 'Incandescence of Hatred', and it will be days before they can make another attempt to enter the planet's atmosphere. Do no fail me, Captain Titus."

"I shall see it done, Inquisitor."

* * *

><p>The Thunderhawk braved the fierce rainstorm that came from the warm equatorial seas. The drops of rain size of a man's eyeballs struck the thick windows of the Space Marine vessel, the strength of each strike as powerful as a punch of a soldier, but water could not pierce such armored window built to withstand bolter rounds and the dangers of space. Yet, the poundings were palpable. Titus closed his eyes for a moment, calming his mind, and heard the whispers of his own, chanting the psalms of the Emperor, steeling his mind against the battle to come. He was always a little afraid of each battle, but it was not a fear of death or defeat. It was a fear that he could make a mistake that could fail the Emperor. Though he exuded confidence in each of his actions, and his strategic and tactical decisions had been made with absolute self-assurance, but there was a tiny whisper of fear, and he calmed it by give prayers to the God Emperor, knowing that in him, Titus could trust all.<p>

~Captain Titus, we are nearly there.~

Titus opened his eyes and breathed out slowly. It was not a sigh, but almost a ritualistic breathing that he came to rely upon even in the intensity of battle. He breathed in deep and slowly exhaled. His heart began to fill once more with strength of will.

"Captain. We are ready. How shall we proceed?"

Titus looked up at the Stormtrooper Sergeant. Sergeant Olbane was the leader of the Inquisitorial Stormtrooper Squad that Hadrian had attached to Titus' mission. A veteran of a decade of fierce battles and campaigns against xeno threats, Olbane was a good soldier who can keep calm head in any situation. Titus had not experienced this man and his squad's capability, but Matoras had assured Titus of the Sergeant's skills and strength.

"We shall land at the landing pad, and the Imperial Guards will escort the Enginseer's teams to the main cogitator depository, where they will seek out the exact location of the Virus Bombs. Meanwhile, we will head toward the primary command hub and reactivate the orbital defenses." Titus explained his plan. "Once the orbital laser satellites are reactivated, the Techpriests back at the Rugale fortress would be able to harness the weapons against the xeno air support."

The Stormtroopers nodded.

"Sound good, my lord." The Sergeant answered.

"I will take point, but I need you to split your squad into two, and cover my flanks. We have not yet encountered the xeno ground forces face to face. I do not want any surprises." Titus continued.

"Talking of flanks, I would like to have one of my men to join you, my lord. We cannot have you surrounded by enemies by being alone." The Sergeant offered, and one of the Stormtroopers Titus remembered as Private Robins with a flamer spoke up.

"Allow me to walk beside you, my lord. I shall use my flamer to clear out your immediate flanks, Captain. What schematic we have of the facility indicated many crevices and hidden rooms." Robins said, and Olbane nodded.

"That may be a good idea, Captain Titus. Robins here is very good with his flamer." Olbane added, and Titus momentarily suspected if Hadrian was keeping an eye on him, but then decided that it was tactically sound decision after all.

"I would not deprive you of your heavy weapon specialist if I can help it, Sergeant." Titus politely refused, though he did not mind having a flamer covering his back.

"It is no problem, Captain. Hilian and his bolter will do well enough, sir." Olbane chuckled, and he took out the printed map of the facility that they were about to enter. "Seeing these corridors splitting up in all directions, I really would not leave you all alone, my lord. Fight unknown xenos for the first time could be deadly for all and any, Captain."

Though Titus was confident in his capabilities, he also understood the need for caution. Thus far, no one in the Inquisitor Hadrian's employ has seen this mysterious xeno, and Titus had to admit that those of Ordo Xenos had more expertise in dealing with xenos.

"I will take your offer gratefully, Sergeant. Private Robins shall accompany me when the need arises for us to split."

"Yes, my lord."

~Captain Titus, we are landing now.~

"Very well, pilot."

The Thunderhawk descended through the wind and rain, but the might of technology had won against the weather, and it landed in one of five landing pads on top of the Imperial facility. Beside the Thunderhawk came the two Valkyries, they too carrying Inquisitorial troops to support Titus and the Stormtroopers.

The rain drops struck Titus' helmet, making it ring slightly, but he grimly strode forward into the rain on to the rampart. Followed by the ten-man Inquisitorial Stormtrooper squad and a squad of Imperial Guards, Titus strolled down to the large ornate gate that led from the landing pads to the main structure. He was met with four squads of Imperial Guards and a small team from Mechanicus. A Techpriest was escorted by four hulking Huscarls armed with cybernetic limbs attached with bolters and chainswords.

"Techpriest Karatin."

"Captain Titus."

"I hope your scans were correct. This is a large facility, and we could get lost if the schematics are incorrect." Titus said.

"I assure you that the scans were as accurate as possible, more than that, I cannot guarantee." The Techpriest replied.

"Very well. Open the door, and we shall proceed." Titus ordered, and the Techpriest began to work on the gate's mechanism.

Suddenly, Sergeant Olbane came up to Titus.

"Captain… I just saw…" He could not finish his sentence when Titus whispered sharply.

"Yes, I know. Pretend as if you did not notice it. They are observing us." Titus said, his eyes also grazing over the shadows in the rain where a pair of glowing eyes stared at the Imperial forces for a moment before disappearing.

"They know we are here. Watch out for ambush." Titus warned.

"Yes, Captain."

* * *

><p>Titus was always at the front of the group, his beautifully decorated Master-Crafted Bolter readied for action at any moment. The corridors were wide and high, like all Imperial designs, and that would not be a problem for Titus. However, he knew that once they had entered the area near the cogitators, the corridors would become narrower and smaller, making it barely big enough for Titus to walk in.<p>

Then there were the noises. Beastly roars and howls were heard, and something metallic hitting other metallic objects were heard. There were sounds of massed footsteps, like a stampede. That made everyone nervous and they held tight their weapons.

The first xeno attack came just as Titus had located a viable entrance to the narrower corridors.

"I cannot walk through this corridor and fight at the same time. I will stand guard here, and the Guardsmen will have to brave these passages." Titus said, despairing over the size of the emergency corridors to the cogitator chamber.

"Yes, my lord." A brave Sergeant had said, but both Titus and the Inquisitorial Stormtroopers looked at him and his men with some worry.

Imperial Guardsmen squads that accompanied Titus' strike force were well armed but their training was dubious at best. They consisted of fifteen men, led by a sergeant with laspistol and a chainsword, also with three frag grenades on his belt. Accompanying him was a Commissar with a bolt pistol and chainsword, and this indicated to Titus that these Guardsmen's homeworld had some predilection with melee weapons, again evidenced by additional combat knife beside the normal bayonet. A corporal with a plasma gun supported the sergeant, while the vox operator carried a pair of laspistols, no doubt an attempt to alleviate the ungainly weight of a full lasgun on a man carrying a device more precious than the man himself. There were two others with plasma guns, and they appeared to be a little more seasoned than the rest, but only by the most minor degree. Nine remaining Guardsmen were armed simply with a lasgun, a few spare magazines, a bayonet and a combat knife.

The Squad Belgon, as Titus later found out, took the initiative and entered the narrower corridor. As soon as they entered the corridor, the noise from all around them began to increase, as if incensed by the Squad Belgon's intrusion. Then weapons fire was heard. The familiar discharge of plasma gun was immediately followed by firing of lasguns and the distinctive noise of a bolt pistol, no doubt fired by the commissar, and then screams came just as chainswords whirred into action. Screams of man and beast were mixed and those waiting outside all readied their weapons, only to have the screams came to sudden end.

"They are dead." Titus concluded grimly, as he shifted his Master-Crafted Bolter in his hand.

"The xenos are coming, my lord." Sergeant Olbane said, as the stampeding sounds came closer and closer.

"Everyone, form a defensive formation around the entrance. I will take the middle, and the Stormtroopers around me. Guardsmen, protect our flanks!" Titus shouted as he stared right into the long and narrow corridor.

A creature, about as big as a young human male on crouching position, appeared at the end of the corridor. Titus' enhanced sights saw the creature down to the minutest detail. Its general form was that of a large dog as it walked with four legs and its posture was like a dog or a wolf. However, it was clearly not a mammal, but more of insectoid as evidenced by the hardened carapace that covered the creature. Moreover, it had another pair of limbs protruding from its back, the joint being just behind its front legs, further suggesting its insectoid nature. The tail was a surprise, for insect tails weren't really formed like so. Then again, xeno biology was not his forte.

The creature saw Titus, and then it charged, its mouth spitting out a long howl. The claws on its back pulled back tightly, coiled to strike with vicious slashes. Titus could see the glistening yellow eyes burning with animalistic rage.

"Die, xeno." Titus muttered.

When the creature was in decent range, Titus' bolter fired.

Dakka Dakka Dakka!

Although an average bolter fired in a burst of four, the Master-Crafted Bolter was designed and upgraded so that its accuracy and reduction of recoil was legendary. It did not require the fourth round to finish off its foe. If Titus was to be defeated, it was more likely that Titus had failed the weapon, not the other way around.

Indeed, the weapon had worked its magic very well. Three powerful self-propelled rounds exploded out from the gun, the split second being enough for the bolts to fly across the distance to reach the charging creature. The first round struck the creature right in between its eyes, while the second round smashed its jaw and the third compounded the damage done by the first.

A bolt round was an explosive ammunition, and it had exploded as it was designed to do. The first round had not only pierced the carapace and the skull of the creature, it exploded so as to leave only the jaw, which was struck next, and the second round removed the remaining part of the head all together. The third round had flew past where the head used to be and drove itself into the spine of the creature, smashing through four segments of the spine before exploding. Then the creature's torso exploded, leaving only tiny scraps of flesh that melted away in some sort of self-destructive acid.

Such feat of accuracy and power could not have been achieved by any other bolter save the most prized relics of Space Marines. It was also good that Captain Titus was an elite marksman well known for his accuracy with a bolter.

"That cannot be it… Such creature could not have wiped out an entire squad of Guardsmen." Olbane whispered as he narrowed his eyes.

"That was just the first, sergeant. Ready yourselves." Titus answered.

Just as Titus had said so, four more dog-like creatures appeared from the end of the corridor, and the silhouettes of more creatures appeared.

"My lord, some things are coming this way too!" Sergeant Caadi shouted.

Caadi was the leader of the Guardsmen squad defending the passage to and from the deeper interior of the facility.

"Steel yourselves and target their heads!" Titus ordered as he fired two more bursts of bolters against the beasts.

Next Titus, Sergeant Olbane unleashed blue plasma hell from his plasma pistol, his accuracy quite impressive even in the eyes of Titus. The third beast had taken three shots from the plasma pistol, and it had lost its jaw and two front legs, and it crumpled to the ground, only to be charred to death as Private Robins let loose a stream of fire upon them with his flamethrower.

Squad Caadi also opened fire upon a half-dozen dog-like creatures, their lasguns, two plasma guns and a flamer brought to bear against the creatures. The lasguns fired in rapid succession as the nine Guardsmen fired their pitiful weapon against the creatures. Indeed, like most times, lasguns did nothing but slow the enemy. The thick carapace of the xeno creatures were enough to bear the laser attack, and despite the repeated shots, lasguns could not pierce their thick exoskeleton with the same ease as they would against the flak armor of a guardsman.

While the intense flames and plasma had managed to take down four of the creatures, two others managed to reach the Guardsmen. Sergeant Caadi roared as he slashed down with his chainsword, the blades spinning in their deadly cycles, but the creature was fast and nimble. Evading the strike with a single step to the side, the dog-creature lunged itself against the sergeant. The dog-creature's attack claws easily pierced the crude flak armor that the sergeant was clad in, and with a single sigh, the sergeant died.

The commissar took it upon himself to remove the enemy who killed the sergeant. The moment that the dog-creature pierced the sergeant's chest with its claws, the commissar's chainsword followed. With sickening sounds of grinding bones, the chainsword cleaved the creature in half, and the commissar fired his bolt pistol into the creature's still threshing body.

The other dog-creature was killed by the Techpriest who rushed to help the Guardsmen. The cog-shaped power axe came down hard as the creature tore out a Guardsman's throat with its teeth. Too busy with killing the soldier, the dog-creature could not react in time as the power axe split its head into two halves.

Titus and the Stormtroopers were busy. Even after the first wave, there were more. Six more dog-creatures had appeared and charged toward Titus, and they were backed up by a large creature with snake-like lower body and big head. The solitary snake-creature had such large claws and it fired something at the humans. Titus could see how it reared up and squeezed out what appeared to be some sort of sharp bone. When the bone shards sped past his helmet and struck a heavily armored Skitarii Huscarl in the chest standing behind the Stormtroopers, Titus realized that the large xeno creature was going to be a real threat.

Three more bursts from his bolter had made short work of the dog-creatures, while the Stormtroopers fired their plasma gun, flamer and a single bolter with belt-fed ammo. The bolter carried by the Private Hilian made series of staccato barks, and the dog-creatures fell under that deadly barrage, and the flames and plasma finished off others. Yet, the larger creature was coming, and despite a single burst of three bolter rounds stuck in its chest, the creature was not dead. In fact, it had blocked two of the three bolter rounds with its wide and deadly-looking claws.

With a terrible roar, the creature charged, but at much slower speed than dog-creatures. It gave the humans enough time to fire their weapons into the creature. Plasma seared into the creature's torso as the bolter rounds struck it, then hot-shot lasguns pierced its limbs, and finally, the flamer set it on fire. It had still pushed forward, only to die mere meters from Titus.

Had the battle ended there, then it would have been simple. Yet, nothing was ever simple when you are in the employ of the Inquisition. The screams of the xeno creatures got louder and louder.

Suddenly, the floor beneath their feet buckled. The Imperial forces had been standing in the middle of a wide and high corridor, the ceiling decorated with the usual gold decorations of Imperial piety and skulls, and some with the cog-shapes of the Mechanicus. The wall exploded across from where the Imperials were standing, bits melting with acid and from the large hole came out five dog-creatures and a snake-creature, while the floor cracked open beneath where Squad Imaril was standing guard against enemies who could have come from behind. Three snake-creatures came out from there, their claws instantly shredding two Guardsmen before they could react.

Titus realized that his forces were beset in a wide open area with no cover and no understanding of the enemy. Tearing through the thick metal-reinforced floors and walls was unheard of until now. Leaving the entrance to the emergency corridor to the Stormtroopers, Titus turned his gun at the three snake-creatures that was tearing Squad Imaril apart. Already, the commissar was dead, six bone-shards half-buried in his torso and neck, and another Guardsman had died with the snake-creature's long claw driven through the top of his head and out the groin.

The Master-Crafted Bolter barked again, and sent three bolter rounds to the head of the snake-creature, this time making the kill with a single burst. Headless, the creature swayed, and fell. The fall of such heavy creature had an impact, and other two snake-creatures and the Guardsmen jumped out of the way, leaving Titus an opening against the enemies. Another burst from his bolter tore bloody holes in the second snake-creature, yet the creature merely screamed in pain before turning toward Titus with its flaps open. Titus instantly knew to roll out of the way, and even as he did so, he felt the creature's bone-shards speeding past where his head used to be.

Gritting his teeth, Titus stood back up, and charged at the creature, acutely aware of how Squad Honbolg and Squad Gheron of the Imperial Guards were fighting a desperate melee against the creatures that came out of the wall, and how Squad Caadi and the Techpriest were shooting down a new wave of dog-creatures. With the third snake-creature being punched to death by Sergeant Imaril's power fist-mounted cybernetic arm, Titus was free to charge the second snake-creature, slamming it hard with his shoulder pauldron.

The creature stumbled back, its snake-like body unable to withstand the impact of such magnitude. Even as it fell backward in daze, Titus let loose two bursts of bolter fire into the creature's chest before slamming down with its boot. The monstrous creature's ribs cracked and burst, and Titus could feel the intense body temperature of the creature inside it. He even felt the broken pieces of the bone shards that the creature fired. With his foe dead, Titus turned his gun when he heard a noise from few meters ahead of him.

"What?"

With another great heave, the spot on the floor exploded upward in green acid, and then more xeno creatures came crawling out from the hole. Titus reacted fast, knowing how his bolter was going need reloading after one more burst of shooting. He fired the bolter, and immediately let it drop to hang on the thick leather belt decorated with silver scripture. Even as the bolter fell from his hands, his left hand reached down to this left thigh, where his plasma pistol was bound there by leather and straps that came undone with a single thought. His right hand came downward along with his bolter, but it went for the back of his belt, where the handle of the power axe was.

"For the Emperor!"

Titus let out a roar, and he charged at the new group of creatures, knowing that the Stormtroopers and the Imperial Guards could not handle any more foes. Even as Titus charged at the new group, Squad Imaril was beset by three dog-creatures, while Squads Honbolg and Gheron were faced with five more dog-creatures, and the Stormtroopers were faced with two snake-creatures. In that battle, Titus could hear the dying screams of three more Guardsman and the sound of mechanical destruction, surely of the heavily mechanized Huscarl Skitarii.

Two dog-creatures and a snake-creature appeared from the new hole on the floor, and Titus was upon them even as they came out. The power axe vibrated with power, sheathed in blue nimbus of disruptive energy. The weapon swung down, its deadly blade cutting across the dog-creature diagonally, killing the monster. Even as he did so, Titus raised his plasma pistol at the other dog-creature, and melted its head into whispers of smoke.

Titus spun around even as the whistling sound of the snake-creature's claw slashing at him. The mighty Artificer Armor creaked and whined as the servos and gears strained against such sudden movement. Even so, it was lucky as the creature's claw struck exactly where Titus' had been a moment before. The attack came again, and this time, Titus had to block it with his armor. The bone-like claw met Titus' left shoulder pauldron, its sharp edge leaving a small gash in the armor. Titus winced as the machine spirit of the armor told him that the protective field formed around his armor had been reduced by a significant amount, and the polarized plating of his armor was pierced, even by a small amount.

"Your fate lies in your death, xeno!" Titus shouted as he blocked the next attack with his power axe.

The creature roared, but its speed could not match that of a Space Marine Captain. Titus was fast, and his power axe sliced through the carapace of the creature's neck, its heavy head falling from its body.

Yet, the battle was far from over. The hole that he was standing near exploded open once more, and a larger snake-like creature appeared from it. It was at least a meter taller than the snake-creature, and its claws were longer, and it had tiny tentacles on its thick snake-like body, and it had a pair of lesser claws wrapped around its chest, coiled tightly to strike at its enemies. Its glowing red eyes showed more intelligence than any of the xeno creatures thus far, and Titus had to grit his teeth when the creature bared its fangs as if to sneer at the Space Marine.

While the creature was a little bigger even than Titus, it was the Space Marine who was faster and had the initiative. The plasma pistol fired its deadly gas ball, charring little holes in the creature's chest while the power axe slashed at its head. However, the creature was strong and smarter than the other snake-like creatures. It bore through the pain of the plasma pistol firing at it, and it roared at Titus, and he only had a second before the creature spewed green acid at his face. Few drops of the acid had splattered on to his helmet and shoulder, but the Artificer Armor was nothing if not tough.

Titus took a chance, and dropped his plasma pistol. Then he punched the creature with a powerful uppercut, making it shut up before swinging the power axe. The creature, though stunned at the punch, instinctively raised its claw to block the power axe, and much to the Space Marine's surprise, there was a slightly purple aura around the claw that clashed against the power axe's disruption field, causing sparks to spray all over. Titus backed away for a moment before lunging with a powerful kick, and the creature fell, its lithe body not made to withstand such attack. It fell on its front, and Titus knew not to give it a moment's pause.

The armor groaned at the extra power Titus squeezed off it, and the Captain slashed down hard and strong, cutting the head of the creature in half.

With the creature dead, other remaining xeno creatures began to retreat, unable to withstand the firepower and strength of will displayed by the Imperials. Titus retrieved his plasma pistol from the ground, and removed his helmet. The others gathered around him. The Stormtroopers remained in full compliment, though Private Louis had a bone shard stuck on his armor. Of the four Imperial Guard squads, Squad Caadi had lost its sergeant and commissar, while others fared no better. Total of fourteen men were lost, almost a full squad. The Techpriest had also lost two of four Huscarls that protected him.

"Captain, what now?" Olbane asked as he wiped sweat from his brows.

"The mission stays same, sergeant. Reorganize the Guardsmen back into full squads, and we are going to take another route to the cogitator chamber." Titus said, kneeling before the corpse of the large snake-like creature.

"The main entrance to the cogitator room is ten floors down from here, Captain Titus." The Techpriest said, as if it would help.

"I know, Techpriest, but we cannot use these narrow emergency corridors. Their dog-like creatures are going to be our bane once we enter these tunnels." Titus concluded.

"Of course, you are right, Captain. However, it will be difficult to find active elevators in this place." The Techpriest nodded. "This whole facility is about to lose all its power. We must shut down every unnecessary drain on power in order to use the cogitators."

Olbane turned to the Techpriest.

"What do you require?"

"If we can deactivate the automated servo-defense coordinators, then we can divert that energy." The Techpriest answered.

"Wait… That does not sound promising. Do you mean that there are servo-defenses in this place?" Olbane asked, as he was getting worried about being shot by their own defensive weapons.

"Not from any schematic we have seen of this place. Most of the defenses of this facility have to be manned, but I am sure that the servo-defenses that this facility manages are of very little consequence." The Techpriest assured the sergeant.

Meanwhile, Titus had opened up the larger snake-creature's head with his combat knife even as the torso and the body of the creature desiccated into dark red ooze. Bits of the creature's head were being melted away too by the splattered acid, but the clean severing of its head had allowed Titus some time. After stabbing and cutting into the brain, Titus took a chunk of its brain to his mouth. Even as the Guardsmen gagged and puked at the sight, Titus slowly chewed the brain, absorbing every piece of information he could.

"Interesting… These creatures have names for each of their strains." Titus as he digested the brain. "This one I've eaten is one of the commanding creatures called 'Hunters', and it works as assassin to the… 'Swarm'… the 'Zerg' swarm."

"Can you be more detailed, Captain?" The Techpriest asked as he also collected samples.

"The dog-creatures are called 'Zerglings', and the snake-creatures are… 'Hydralisks'… hmmm…" Titus mused as he tucked away his weapons and reloaded the bolter. "There is not much else. I will need to find and eat the brain of a creature higher up in their hierarchy."

"Then we shall find and kill such creature. Please, make sure you leave all you've learned with the Machine Spirit of your holy power armor so that the Inquisition and the Mechanicus could study what you've learned about this xeno." The Techpriest asked, and Titus nodded.

Titus turned to the rest of the team.

"Now, we must pierce the darkness within the facility. There would be many dangers, particularly seeing how these creatures can come out of anywhere. Be aware of your surroundings, and do not hesitate to fire." Titus warned, and the Guardsmen nodded in agreement.

The team, now reduced in strength by a single Guardsmen squad and two Huscarls, moved forward deeper into the structure. The long winding stairs of wide and shallow steps were everywhere and wide open areas of chapels and Guardsmen barracks were found too, though corpses could not be found but for the blood and few bits of guts and bones. The Imperial Guards and the PDF who protected the facility were obviously killed and eaten, and it appeared that some had made a final stand at the chapel, whose thick reinforced doors were cracked open with devastating force.

Inside were remains of the defenders, and their carcass were more intact than those outside, but only by a marginal amount. A Commissar, two Sergeants and four Guardsmen made their final stand, their weapons including a heavy bolter mounted on a stand. The heavy weapon still had many rounds left, and Titus was tempted to take the weapon but he was already too burdened with extra weapons he carried. He turned to the Techpriest.

"Could your Huscarls carry and operate that heavy bolter?"

"They most certainly can, Captain Titus."

At a single glance, there was some communication between the Techpriest and his two remaining guards. One of them took the heavy bolter off from the stand and held it in one hand, and Titus was marginally impressed at the half-machine warrior's strength, though he could see the gears and whining servos in the Huscarl's body indicated the stress that the body was under.

They went down a floor, only to be beset by a dozen Zerglings, but with the help of the heavy bolter, the lesser creatures of the Zerg Swarm died quickly. Though Titus briefly wondered why some of the creatures did not explode and melt away in acid, the curiosity was quickly curbed as more Zerg creatures swarmed them.

The chainswords and power axes moved in deadly arcs as they sliced through the Zerglings with ease. They were indeed 'lesser' creatures as even the lasguns made impact on the creatures when shot at higher settings or at closer range. The flamers were particularly effective against the creatures, as they burned whole with or without their carapace. One of the weaknesses of flesh was the weak resistance against fire, and these Zerglings clearly demonstrated that, despite their impressive offensive capability.

Then as the team went deeper into the darkness that permeated the facility, the assaults got stronger and fiercer. Scores of Zerglings appeared alongside Hydralisks, the latter firing their deadly spines at the humans. The lasguns, bolters and plasma guns returned fire while bayonets, chainswords and power axes struck down the Zerg creatures in harrowing melee. Four more Guardsmen died, three from the spines of Hydralisks, and the fourth from the Zergling driving its claws into the exposed neck of the human soldier.

* * *

><p><strong><span>END OF CHAPTER 44<span>**


	45. Chapter 45

Again, my apologies for slow update.

For an excuse, I did have my paternal grandparents suddenly die... So, that was very sad... even though they were quite old.

However, my real excuse is because of my real life. Work must come first when you are in education of children.

As for my other stories, their next chapters have been plotted and I am slowly writing them.

_Next chatper on..._  
><em>SG:Galactic Imperium - It's back to galactic politics, more of GEK's secret schemes...<em>  
><em>Path to Godhood - El Sokauron declares a war against USA, but is it really what he is planning?<em>

PS: I fixed the misspelling of 'Leman Russ'.

PPS: As for why Zerg is so weak... the reason will be revealed soon... because the next chapter will have Zerg POV.

PPPS: Alena and others would make an appearance in the coming chapters... As for Titus vs Alena... it may be a little too early for that...

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 45<span>**

**Riax Sector – Istandor Subsector**

**Argol System**

**Argol II – Agri-world**

**Argail II – Moon of Argol II / Feral-World**

**946.739.M41**

**Orbital Defense Relay Facility**

"Is it done, Techpriest?"

Titus shouted as he slashed down with power sword that severed the head off a Hydralisk while Sergeant Olbane fired his las weapon into the gaping hole in the thick armor of a Roach.

"Almost, Captain. The Machine Spirit cannot so easily be placated after being so desecrated by the xeno filth., The Techpriest replied calmly, "and I cannot in good conscience neglect any rituals lest I anger the Machine Spirit."

"Well, we simply do not have time, Lord Techpriest. These xenos just keep coming!" The Sergeant shouted as he plunged his combat knife into the skull of a Zergling.

"Eat fire!" Private Robins roared as he let loose a stream of flames at the three Zerglings that got caught in his sight.

Beside Private Robins, other Stormtroopers relentlessly fired their weapons into the bodies of the enemy, and the Guardsmen who accompanied Titus and his team had also found some courage.

"It is done, Captain Titus. I had to skip one or two very minor rituals thanks to our urgency, but I think it should do for now. Also, I have rerouted the command function to the Rugale Fortress, which means that all we need to do is to lock up this room, and then purge the facility with the in-built defense system."

"And what system is that, Techpriest?"

"It is a massive, facility-wide purging with flames set upon blessed oil. It should bathe every corridor, every room and every crevice with scorching fire. Nothing will remain alive once it is done."

The Techpriest spoke so casually, the rest of them had think for a moment before understanding his words.

"Then let us get out of this place, Techpriest." Titus answered, not taking his eyes off the Zergling that he just stomped.

"Initiating lock down of the facility." The Techpriest spoke as he fiddled more with the console.

"How are we getting out, sir?"

"We can use the emergency teleportation system in this chamber. We should be teleported to the hanger bay."

"Is it safe?"

"I cannot guarantee that, Guardsman."

Every Guardsmen looked at Titus, for he was the one with the deciding voice. Titus nodded as he fired another burst of bolter rounds from his gun and shot down a Roach.

"We must take our chances, Techpriest. Do it!"

Then with the press of a single button, the men inside the control chamber disappeared in a large puff of smoke and bright flash even as the thick blast doors firmly closed and locked.

* * *

><p><strong>947.739.M41<strong>

**Hill 225 – South West Passage / Istandor 167th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Company**

Lieutenant Worak's eyebrows contorted as the dull pain of the boltgun's stock thumping against his right shoulder was felt. The bruise had already become black long before now. Te original sharp pains had subsided under the constant barrage that the soft man-flesh had taken. Yet, Worak could not stop. The moment he paused, it would mean the death of another soldier under his command. Not that his bolter rounds piercing the flesh of the enemy that would prevent such death, but he wanted to believe that every shot he took would delay the death.

Gritting his teeth, Worak pressed the trigger once more and he felt another thud on his shoulder. The bolt round exploded out from the muzzle of the large gun and sped toward the Hydralisk. The bolt round struck home, and the right arm of the large creature exploded at its root, and while the creature screamed and writhed, six beams of orange laser struck the creature, felling it. Worak could not smile at it because what that attack had indicated to him was that another member of his platoon was dead. Of the original sixty men he had commanded mere twenty minutes ago had now been reduced to six while the enemy seemed to have no end in their numbers.

While he could have grimaced about the soon-to-follow death he and his men would experience, his focus was solely on firing another round at the xeno creatures. The men called the creatures Zergs, and he was not quite sure where the name came from. They originally called them 'Uglies' then 'Ugs' and then 'Urgs'. Something during the few months that the creatures really pressed onward, the men began to call them 'Zerg' and the other creatures suddenly had names like 'Zerglings', 'Roaches', 'Hydralisks' and 'Banelings'. The Banelings were a particular example of the name's transformation. They started calling them the 'Boomers' then 'Exploders', and suddenly someone called them Banelings, and the name stuck. In any case, the Zerg had sent the Banelings sparsely enough. Otherwise the Imperial forces would have been in big trouble. They were particularly dangerous to the thousands of Guardsmen that stood behind their flimsy sandbag bunkers and few rough rockcrete tanktraps that worked as rudimentary barriers.

Even as Worak fired another two rounds into the Hydralisk's head and finished off the creature, he saw the familiar and hated shape of a large bloated green Baneling. This one had not been rolling like some of the other ones he had witnessed in action. Moving surprising fast even on its stubby little legs, the Baneling shoved its sac-like body forward. Worak could hear Captain Hanmar shouting at his men to fire at the Baneling, and the men, fully understanding the dangers of Banelings and their explosive acid showers, aimed their weapons at the creature. Yet, the front was filled with other more dangerous creatures. Only a dozen lasguns were brought to bear, and even Worak could not shoot his gun because he needed to reload.

The creature came ever close and Worak's six Guardsmen fired their lasguns at the creature. If it was just the Baneling, it would have been easy. A Baneling was a large cumbersome creature that fumbled in its steps. Like a particularly fat Grox with short legs, it tumbled this way and that, making it slightly harder to kill with an aimed shot, yet it was large enough that even an Ork could hit it. It was not the Baneling itself that made the killing of it difficult. It was the sudden explosive appearance of four Zerglings placing themselves in front of the Baneling and charging toward Worak's men that caused the problem. The guns were quickly retrained upon the four dog-like creatures, and aided by Worak's newly reloaded gun, the creatures were down quickly enough, but it was not quick enough. The Baneling was almost upon them.

With a sudden roar of mechanical growl, a Chimera rolled in, slamming at the Baneling. The APC crushed the bug, and for its trouble, it received a shower of acid. The metal plating of the Chimera sizzled and bubbled as the molecular acid within the Baneling's sacs found a nice meal. The multi-laser atop the Chimera swiveled around and let loose streams of orange laser beam that seared and scorched the carapace-covered flesh of the Zerg. The Chimera was new to this battlefield, and Worak could tell because it didn't have any other battle damage. It did not have Hydralisk spines stuck through its plating or have crushed up corpses of Zerglings stuck between its caterpillars. Also, it had fresh Guardsmen inside the vehicle, shooting out from inside of the APC. The back door opened, and two dozen men marched out, their guns blazing and then quickly joining Worak's men.

A particularly gruff-looking Sergeant with a chainsword and laspistol came up to Worak.

"Are you Lieutenant Worak of Istandor 167th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Company, sir?" Worak nodded, though he was surprised at someone actually looking for him.

"That I am."

"I am Sergeant Igras of Riax 88th Light Foot Regiment, 4th Company. I am here to reinforce you and your men, sir." The sergeant declared, and the man ignored the look of utter shock and surprise in Worak's face.

Even as Sergeant Igras and his men brought out sandbags and supply boxes from the Chimera and stacked them around Worak's position, the lieutenant could see at least two dozen Chimeras and four Leman Russ tanks reinforcing the front, while four Valkyries had landed in the field behind the low-walled fortification built on the top of the small hill, which Worak and his men were defending.

The fortification was a minor thing hastily built when the Zerg first landed upon the planet. Aided by a single Enginseer and a score of Servitors, the men in the Worak's company abandoned their lasguns for shovels and hammers, and prepared that circular wall. On the outside, the wall reached merely two meters in height, but in reality, the wall was a meter and half, with Guardsmen standing on the rampart behind fifty centimeter fence made of corrugated iron sheet fixed over a small mound of sandbags. Yet, it was still a fortification of sorts, and it worked at the Company's HQ. Supplies, both consumable and otherwise, had been kept inside the makeshift cargoholds, while the central structure, which was a standard STC Infantry Command Bunker, surrounded itself with a single Basilisk with faulty engine, three Heavy Bolters mounted on a pintle on the wall, and two Autocannons also mounted on the wall.

There inside the fortress, Worak and his men, along with other junior officers and soldiers, gathered for morning briefings and ate their meals. It was enough to fit a third of the Company at once, and they took shifts taking naps inside the fortification. Captain Hanmar also lived there, perhaps more comfortably inside the cozy bed inside the Infantry Command Bunker. He surrounded himself with more experienced Guardsmen, but the men did not resent him. He was not one of those fat-cats who lost semblance of control when they actually faced battle. In fact, Hanmar was the opposite. He loved battle, and thrived in it. Worak had been with Hanmar for a long time now, and they had fought together during the civil war, and though that had been over a decade ago and now they are both exiled to this minor Agro-world, Worak knew of Hanmar's fondness for battle. Now, they had plenty of it.

The Leman Russ tanks barked out their cannon shells at the incoming Zerg, and the explosive shrapnel showered the oncoming waves of Zerglings. Zerglings moved in curious ways in their march to attack. Instead of fanning out wide or moving in narrow formations, they moved in groups of several dozen. While sporadic appearance of Zerglings across the battlefield was not uncommon, the major offensives came in droves of Zerglings, supported by occasional Hydralisks and a few Roaches. However fearsome Zerglings were to the infantry, the tanks and Chimeras had made short work of Zerglings, Bolters and multi-lasers took down entire squads of Zerglings, and though they were forced back again and again, the little Zerg creatures did not relent. Instead, the attacks became even more persistent.

-Central, this is observer Gamma Two. Reqest fire mission at Grid 114025. It's a squad of Hydralisks and few Roaches.-

"Alright, men! We have sightings of a Hydralisk squad moving towards the Leman Russ tanks! Firing solution at 174.3, range 425 meters! Aim!" The harsh guttural shout of the Basilisk's commander drove his men into action.

"Target locked, sir!" The Guardsman in charge of loading shouted back, his ears had long gone near-deaf and his actions instigated by the hand gestures of his superiors rather than their words.

"Fire three volleys!"

"Yes, sir!"

Boom!

The first shell flew, and the men behind the Basilisk quickly reloaded their large gun.

Boom!

The second shell was fired, and during those moments, the first shell had landed amid the small crowd of a dozen Hydralisks and half as many Roaches and some Banelings. The shockwave alone had tore apart the Zerg creatures. After only the first shell, only the Roaches and half the Hydralisks had survived.

Boom!

The third shell hit an almost empty ground, the Zerg creatures already been shredded by previous two shells, but the third shell managed to kill off a dozen Zerglings that had replaced the Hydralisks in their relentless charge.

-Central. Fire mission successful. Mission end.-

"Get me the next dispatch!" The Basilisk's operator shouted once more.

The observers located in various locations across this particular battlefield carefully watched through their binoculars to see any particularly dangerous foes. Guarded by hardened veterans, these observers and their vox-operator partner kept the central command informed of any enemy movements.

"Central, this is observer Gamma Five, I have a sighting of an Ultralisk! All guns to coordinates 2025.0522, target moving at forty kilometers an hour." The observer read out the information indicated on his high-tech binocular. It didn't require too much brainpower to read what the display said, but it took guts to shout out when something so shocking and fearsome came so close.

An Ultralisk had been the most feared creature to the defenders even though it had only appeared twice before now. With the size easily dwarfing the Chimeras or even the Leman Russ, the men of this front had little to nothing to stop the creature with. During the earliest incursions, when the men's understanding of the Zerg had been greatly limited, the lone Ultralisk had managed to obliterate most of the Company's armored capabilities. The four Leman Russ and two Manticores were destroyed by the Ultralisk and its Roach retinue, and it was only the shelling from the five Basilisks that finally brought down the huge creature. The second time, ordered by the stupid colonel who didn't understand what was really happening from behind the comfortable desk he sat in, the men attempted to retaliate, only to be ambushed by Hydralisks, Banelings and the Ultralisk supported by Zerglings. It was that encounter that reduced four of the Basilisks to scrap, and the last Basilisk was left with half-damaged engine.

The men knew better now. The moment that the appearance of the Ultralisk filtered through the vox channel, the Basilisk turned its gun, and the Leman Russ, on the advice of the original defenders also swiveled their guns toward the oncoming Zerg creature. Fortunately, the guns were not the only reinforcement. The Valkyries, all four of them, lifted off from behind the frontline. With long screech of their wings cutting through the thick wind, the four aircrafts sped towards the large creature already being spotted by naked eyes. From four crafts, total of four Hellstrike missiles and four rocket pods fired off and sped toward the Ultralisk at incredible speed, and with great explosions, the creature was brought to its knees. Then the Basilisk dropped its shells, finishing off the creature with its powerful shell.

"Central, we have killed the beast you call 'Ultralisk'. It doesn't seem too dangerous from where we are." The pilot of the lead Valkyrie scoffed as he turned his aircraft around.

-Don't be fooled, boy! They are far more dangerous when you are down here!- Someone shouted back in indignation.

Suddenly the Valkyrie shook as if something hit it. The pilot shouted to his partner.

"What is going on?"

"We are under attack! Ronson just got shot." Replied the gunner who had turned his head to look at the back.

"Shot with what?"

"I've no idea. Hey, there they are! They are the ones shooting at us!" The gunner shouted and the pilot could see several Hydralisks rearing up and firing their spines at the low-flying crafts.

"What in the name of the Throne... Evade! Evade!"

The pilot could not finish his sentence when a single spine somehow managed to bury itself in the cockpit window with such force and impact that well over half of the bone-ammunition had penetrated the window and had cracked it. It was only then the pilot realized the danger.

"Get those heavy bolters firing!" The pilot shouted and the men in the back of the Valkyrie quickly re-manned the door-mounted heavy bolters.

-Get some altitude!- The pilot of another Valkyrie shouted as the four Imperial aircrafts quickly swerved to dodge the shower of spines.

-Incoming fliers!-

With that, the Valkyrie pilot saw the distant shapes descending from the clouds. There weren't many but there were still nearly a dozen small shapes moving down and quickly followed by four larger creatures. Yet, the Zerg had made a mistake in their hurry to counter the Valkyries. Something flashed in great orange light and one of the large fliers, known to the defenders as a Devourer, had exploded and turned into charred blobs of flesh torn into thousands of pieces. The distance thunder of laser cannons firing and the literal thunder created by the super-heated air colliding with cooler air around the laser beams had rumbled through to the ears of everyone. Then another flash from another direction had shattered a second Devourer and the remaining Devourer and lone Corruptor hastily retreated above the cloud, seeking refuge from the laser cannons' sensor range.

Another lightning-like strike from the laser cannons appeared, and though it hit nothing, the shockwave and the thunderous noise it created around the smaller creatures, known as Mutalisks, had disrupted enough of the xeno fliers that the Valkyries could make their way back to the frontline, where six Hydra Flak tanks just arrived to reinforce the defenders. It was just in time as well, since the Mutalisks chasing the Valkyries were quickly shredded by the black puffs of flak exploding all around them. Though fast and versatile, the Mutalisks were certainly not tough creatures. Their soft wings, while capable of giving great velocity and speed to the creatures, could not stand the power of Imperial flak, and the occasional heavy bolter and heavy stubber fire from the ground. The dozen Mutalisks were quickly dispatched, and the Valkyries survived their mission without too much damage.

Lieutenant Worak saw all this, and was amazed that their reinforcement had arrived and effectively destroyed the Ultralisk, which would have devastated the defensive line that the soldiers of Istandor 167th Infantry Regiment had reformed after two disastrous setbacks. The major factor in their previous defeat had been the lack of intelligence about the enemy and the lack of proper armor and air support. Now, they had both. With a dozen Marauder Bombers flying high across the cloudy sky and dropping incendiary bombs that roasted the Zerg alive, Worak saw it fit for him to just drop down to his ass, and let out a relieved sigh.

If this was merely a story, then everything would have ended with Lieutenant Worak's sigh of relief, yet, war did not end so easily. Even as Worak sat, and his men gathered around him to congratulate each other about surviving until that moment, he felt the ground tremble, and everyone froze in their track.

"What? Do you feel this?"

Everyone paused. Everyone was tense, even the new guys.

"What is going on, Lieutenant?" asked the Sergeant Igras, readying his chainsword, "Is this a prelude to another attack?"

Worak could not give the sergeant an answer.

"I've no idea, sergeant. We've never felt this before... unless..."

Before he could finish the sentence, the ground where the dead bodies of thousands of Zerg creatures had been strewn about, a score of massive explosive expulsion of earth were witnessed. From each hole came out an Ultralisk flanked by scores of Roaches and Hydralisks, and then they were followed by hundreds of smaller unearthing where thousands of Zerglings suddenly appeared and among them were Banelings by their hundreds. The Imperials quickly attempted to fight them, but it was not before more Zerg appeared and they were of strains that the Imperials had not seen yet. A dozen large tube-like creatures looking like giant worms that glowed had strolled through the ranks of Zerglings, and scores of creatures nearly as large as Ultralisks except in height had exploded out from the ground amid the Zerglings.

The Zerg Swarm marched. They strode forth in an inexorable movement that guaranteed the destruction of the humans. Even with the reinforcement, the Imperials were outnumbered ten to one, and that was excluding the Ultralisks that were certain to do more damage than a hundreds Zerglings would ever dream of.

"Fire! Fire or die! Glory to the first man to die!"

Someone shouted, and Worak thought it was Captain Hanmar. Only the warmongering maniac like him would shout something like that. Yet, he did as he was told. Raising his bolter once more, Worak swallowed and calmed his breathing. The enemies were still too far for his gun, and he needed to wait, while the lone Basilisk, and the two newly arrived Manticores let loose with their devastating barrages. Worak saw the Hydra Flak tanks moving forward and lowering their guns. Though they were mostly anti-air, they did make a very good fire support, thanks to their four autocannons.

"Here they come! Fire! Fire in formation!" Hanmar shouted, and the Guardsmen began to fire their lasguns once more.

Worak took careful aim and fired in single volleys. It was his style. He wasn't a fan of firing wildly. He did not like the idea of wasting his ammunition in a blusterous display that resulted in no kills.

Dakka!

The head of a Zergling exploded.

Dakka!

A Hydralisk paused as its left front claw shattered.

Dakka! Dakka!

A Roach crumpled as its front legs were busted.

Then the Zerg attacked. Zerglings launched themselves once they got near enough. The men had seen this, and they fired into the bellies of the small melee creature just as they jumped. It was more effective than firing at them normally, yet it was only a marginal advantage. Hundreds of Zerglings fell from their jump while scores of them made it to their target and shredded the Guardsmen who failed to shoot down the creatures.

Two Hellhounds were doing well, taking forward position and laying down a field of fire that blocked the Zerglings from flanking the defenders from the south. The five multi-laser turrets to the north had been reinforced by a squad of Ogryns who fought in thrashing melee against the Zerglings and the Roaches that got too close. From the walls of the central fortification came the staccato barking of heavy bolter and whizzing sound of lascannons. They worked well, felling many Hydralisks and Roaches, though the Zerglings were nimble and agile enough to evade most of the slow but powerful attacks. Leman Russ tanks were having a field day, taking down entire cadres of Hydralisks, despite the hundreds of spines that buried themselves deep into the tank's armor.

Worak grimly smiled as the Valkyries returned to work and felled another Ultralisk, and the Basilisk and the Manticores downed yet another. For a moment, the Zerg's momentum seemed to have been slowed. A glimmer of hope appeared, despite the remaining Ultralisks. Yet, like always, hope had been but a fleeting illusion of deranged minds.

Identified and named as an 'Infester' in the future, one of the large worm-like Zerg creatures fired off some sort of pod into the air. It drew a graceful arc and then exploded right above a group of Guardsmen defending a team of Fire Support squad with a heavy bolter. The pod's content spread like fine mist, and then the men began to scream. From their skins appeared large green and purple fungi. Large mushroom-like pods sprouted from every exposed skin while dark purple ichors held the men in place, frozen like bound men. They tried to struggle, but they could not shake the bond. Like strong glue that would not come off, the strange attack disabled a whole squad with ease. Then as the mushrooms and fungi spread across the bodies of those men, they began to die one by one, and at surprisingly fast rate. Within seconds, first man died, and even as the battle went on, the rest of the squad could not participate in it any more since they died within the minute. It was not just that squad. From each Infester came at least two such Fungal Growth, disabling and killing the men, and the Infesters even managed to debilitate a Chimera that was charging into a rank of Zerglings and crushing them under its treads. Bound by the fungi that disrupted its treads and held it fixed to the ground, Hydralisks and Roaches beset the Chimera, tearing it and dissolving it.

Infesters were not the only problem for the defenders. Another set of newly encounter creatures, later named 'Lurkers', came closer to the frontline then suddenly began to dig. Worak was close enough to one such creature, and he felt a strange foreboding, and he turned his gun at the creature. It was a tough creature, taking at least five rounds before it finally burrowed under. Something warned Worak. His mind and his intuition kicked into overdrive, and offered a suggestion. The Zerg were highly hostile species, and it would be utterly ridiculous if the creature's purpose was only to dig. Then his legs moved, and he jumped out of the way, and it was just a moment before a large gently bent yet deadly sharp spines exploded out from the ground. If Worak had been standing there, he would have been impaled. Private Lusen was not so lucky. He had been just a couple of meters behind Worak, and did not know enough to leap out of the way. The spine cut through from his right feet. It came out from the ground, tore through the calf and then back into the right armpit, eventually coming out through the left side of the neck.

To make the matter worse than having Infesters using Fungal Growth and Lurkers slaying the men in droves, there was a special Ultralisk that came out from the ground even as other Ultralisks were being pounded by the Imperial Guards' heavy weapons. It was larger than other Ultralisks by a little and on its back was a huge tube-like growth, while the monstrous creature's stomach seemed to be bloated in similar scheme as that of Baneling's body. It was indeed a creature to be named 'Banelord'. It roared in deafening glee, and then it fired. It fired in a burst of three, and even as he evaded another attack from the Lurker before the Lurker was killed by Worak's Frag Grenade tossed to the exact spot that it burrowed under, Worak saw that the creature fired three Banelings, The Banelings launched from the Banelord came down in a large arc, and fell upon one of the Manticores, and the acid spray turned several of the Guardsmen protecting their precious artillery piece into green goo. The Manticore withstood the attack, but the missiles on its back could not. The missile exploded, and while it was fortunate that the warhead did not detonate, the missile's fuel ignited and the tank was suddenly encased in Promethum-fueled fire.

Moments passed only to bring low even the tiniest hope. The Infesters suddenly employed new tactic. They were not content with merely killing the men with Fungal Growth, but they did something else too. Each Infester reared and spewed out scores of large cocoons that flew far enough to land among the Guardsmen or just behind them. Some Guardsmen were crushed under them, but they were too few, but when the cocoons exploded open in a burst of acid mist and tiny bone shrapnel that tore apart the men around the cocoon, the men realized the danger. Little did they know that such explosions were not the purpose of the cocoons that the Infesters threw down upon them.

From inside the cocoons came out five man-like creatures, but they were clearly not of humankind. They stood on two legs like all humanoids, but their feet were wide and flat like that of elephants. This hindered any possibility of swift and agile movements, but it made them stable and firmly grounded. The problem was that their legs were made of what appeared to be thick coiled muscle fiber mostly exposed but parts protected by boney extrusions. Their waists were thick and from the hips grew hardened carapace that grew upward and encased the torso in the shape of armor. Their arms were also humanoid in that it had a shoulder, an elbow and wrist on each arm, but the similarities ended there. While both arms were made of coiled muscle fiber, the left hand consisted of three long claws for fingers and a hooked claw for thumb. The right arm had a growth that looked suspiciously like a barrel of a rifle, and strange sacs were attacked to the barrel as if they were magazines full of ammunition, and it had a bayonet under that biological rifle barrel. The face of the creature, also horrible by any human standards, had two glowing eyes and two large tentacles growing out of what should be nose and mouth, and over its head was a large domed carapace that protected the head like it is a helmet.

With nearly forty Infesters raining down such cocoons and each cocoon giving birth to five Infesteds, each wave of cocoons created at least two hundred such horrific monsters. After the third wave, the Imperial Guards could no longer focus their guns upon the Zerg that were approaching them from the front, but were forced to turn their guns around to fight the six hundred Infesteds what fired tiny acid-covered spines as small as a man's finger, but as powerful as a bullet from a stubber, perhaps more dangerous thanks to their acidic nature.

All hope seemed to be gone. Worak screamed as he plunged his combat knife into the face of one such Infested, and then fired his bolter into its chest at point-blank range. The creature went down with two bolter rounds inside it, but Worak could not relax. He had to quickly turn and fire a shot into the leaping Zergling that would have torn him apart with its claws. The Zergling fell and it writhed as its life did not end. Worak attempted to end it, but his bolter clicked empty. Grimacing, he took out his sidearm, a laspistol, and fired it into its face. Dead, the Zergling dissolved into a pool of goo by its own acids. Suddenly, he felt a searing hot beam scorching so close to his head. He looked up and saw Sergeant Igras with his laspistol out. Worak's brain froze as Igras lunged at him with his chainsword.

"Get down!" Igras shouted at the last moment, and Worak did not even think about it before ducking.

The chainsword cleaved through the air and found its mark on the side of a Roach's front. The tough carapace of a Zerg Roach and the diamantine teeth of an Imperial Guard sergeant's chainsword clashed, and while they stood their grounds for a moment, the whirring teeth won the fight. With a terrible crackling noise, the hardened carapace of the Roach's shell shattered and the chainsword made its way through the shell, then through the creature's head, and then out from the other side. With its head shredded, the Roach fell, but it did not die without a final spite. It spewed out its acid spurt, and though Igras had killed it, he was showered with the acid below his waist. The sergeant almost screamed but he gritted his teeth as his legs began to dissolve. However, by the time his feet had turned into goo and he fell flat on his face, he was screaming insanely. Worak could do nothing. There was nothing he could do. Besides, Worak had quickly found himself surrounded by three Zerglings ready to pounce him.

Suddenly everything stopped. Actually, all the Zerg had stopped. Their attacks had mysterious paused and all creatures suddenly looked up. The surviving humans, blind to this change of action for a moment, took the chance and slew many creatures before they noticed something strange about the Zerg. Worak looked up as well, and then he saw a great red light burning through the clouds. He saw the dark cloudy sky suddenly alight with bursts of dull red lights, getting more and more intense as the moments ticked by. Then Worak thought he saw a thin red line from the sky down to the ground, and then the light expanded. It was followed by blinding light that Worak had a moment to shield himself from with his hands and closed eyes. The light was then replaced by a massive shockwave and a great burst of dust and ashes exploding upwards and outwards in a mushroom cloud.

The intensity of the explosion sent Lieutenant Worak, the Zerglings surrounding him and everything not obliterated by the intensity of the light and the explosion were flung far from their original place. The dusty wind swept through the fields like a deadly gust of sandstorm intent on killing everything that moved. Worak just closed his eyes, wrapped his arms around his head and curled into a fetal position, hoping that all this was but a bad night's dream. Time passed, and what felt like hours, though surely it was mere minutes, had ended the dust storm. The wind died down, and Worak found himself able to stand. He pushed out and the several centimeters of sand and dust and a charred bones of a human cleft in twain. He stood up, and shook himself.

There he saw a large crater, and everything, including the mighty Ultralisks gone and only the dust and the ashes flying through the still turbulent courses of wind had remained. The sky was still filled with red lights bursting beyond clouds, but they were distant now. Shaking his head, he checked himself. There was no wound, for which he silently prayed to the God Emperor for thanks. He also found his laspistol still in his hand, and he shook off the dust and fired it once for effect, and it worked. A las-weapon was indeed reliable.

Grrrrrr

Worak turned quickly and pointed his laspistol at the offending creature. A Zergling had survived the explosion, and it growled at the Lieutenant, though its attack claws gone and its tail also crushed. Bleeding profusely, the Zergling was still ready jump at Worak. Worak gulped and raised his laspistol at the Zergling, but knew that a Zergling wasn't so easy to kill with a laspistol. As Worak willed his finger to depress the trigger, the Zergling leapt at the human, only to be tackled by another Zergling who brought down the first Zergling and savagely assaulted the fellow Zerg with its claws and teeth. Worak did not understand what was going on, and then he saw other Zerg creatures. The Zerg creatures were fight each other, killing and eating each other in a desperate and intense fight for supremacy. He saw thee Hydralisks clawing their way on to the top of an Ultralisk, digging their long claws into the thick armor of the larger creature while the Ultralisk's huge tusks swept through a group of Zerglings so focused on killing each other that they did not even notice as the Ultralisk stomped on them.

The Ultralisk on its killing spree of lesser Zerg creatures had been the only survivor among the many Zerg who were there in the impact zone. It was the only one getting the Zerg back into fighting formation. Each time it roared, the Zerglings began to return to their sanity and formed a ring around the larger creature while hunting down particularly feral Zerg creature. Still, there were too few Zerg left in the battlefield. Aside from the Ultralisk, only five or so Hydralisks and two Roaches were seen, though Zerglings still numbered nearly two dozen. Fortunately for Worak, the Zerg were not the only survivors. A Chimera and several men were standing back up.

The humans were scattered and the Zerg were getting their formation back quicker than humans were shaking off the impact. The Ultralisk roared once more, and the Zerg creatures finally regained their sanity. Worak grimaced as the Zerg creatures turned to the Chimera and the few men that huddled around the light armor. Worak could not shake feeling that he was going to die here.

The battle turned once more, again in utter surprise. From North West came a loud cacophony of engines' roars. A single Thunderhawk painted in black with a large Inquisitorial insignia descended down from the scattering clouds escorted by three Valkyries. Even as the Ultralisk roared and charged toward the Chimera, the Thunderhawk Cannon and lascannons fired, followed closely by the spray of heavy bolter rounds. The side of the Ultralisk exploded and chunks of its gut were disgorged, and it stumbled and wavered, only to be struck by the rocket pods of the Valkyries sending down explosive rockets that spread explosive deaths all around it. The Thunderhawk swerved around once more and then fired its weapons at the Zerg again, this time, finishing off the remaining few creatures.

Worak made his way to the Chimera and the few scared men assembled there. There was no other officer there, and it appeared that Worak was the only surviving officer. The Thunderhawk slowed down and landed in front of them, and from inside came out an Adeptus Astartes in bright blue and carrying the insignia of the Ultramarines. Worak knelt before the god-like warrior he only had heard rumors of, and other men followed suit.

"You have saved us, my lord. We were the last and we thought we were finished at last." Worak said, his mind finally clear enough to give thanks to the warrior who saved him and his men.

"Arise, Guardsmen. There is no need for you to kneel before me. We are both servants of the Emperor." The Astartes answered. "I am Captain Titus of the Ultramarines. Who is in charge here?"

"It appears that I am, my lord. I am Lieutenant Worak of the Istandor 167th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Company. I appear to be the only surviving officer, sir."

The Space Marine looked around at the devastation.

"It appears that the orbital laser cannons are more powerful than we had thought. Lieutenant, I off you a ride back to the Rugale Fortress to be debriefed. This front is lost, but not by the hands, or the claws, of the enemy. You have fought well."

"But, my lord, we cannot abandon this position. This is a key location in blocking the enemy's advance." Worak interjected but Titus shook his head.

"You have no more men, lieutenant. Though it was unintentional, the orbital laser cannons had obliterated both the enemy and your men. Someone else will defend this location, or we will shrink our defense lines to accommodate for the loss of personnel. Now, let's move out."

* * *

><p><strong>947.739.M41<strong>

**Rugale Fortress – HQ of Istandor 98****th****, 122****nd****, 167****th**** Infantry Regiments, Istandor 104****th**** Light Armored**

From the high walls of the Rugale Fortress, Inquisitor Hadrian watched as the sky was lit up in brilliant display of fireworks and distant beams striking down through the atmosphere and striking the faraway locations. He knew the possibility of Imperial losses, but the lives of Imperial Guardsmen were supposed to be sacrificed for the greater good of the Imperium. He turned and saw a cadre of officers.

"General Vegin, the orbital laser defenses have come online. The air superiority is yours now, and there is no more reason to hold back your Valkyries and Vultures." Hadrian commented, his gaze as icy as frozen ice-worlds, "And I shall allow my Marauder Bombers to join your fleet of aircrafts."

The general nodded, his reluctance clear in his frown, but he knew better to argue with an Inquisitor, particularly when a Space Marine Librarian of the Deathwatch was glaring dangerously from behind the Inquisitor.

"Of course, Inquisitor. Now that the tables have turned, I shall do my utmost to destroy this xeno infestation."

"See that you do."

The general and his staff excused themselves, and Hadrian looked out to the distance battlefield once they had departed. Solemn, the Inquisitor spoke to the Librarian without turning.

"It appears that Captain Titus has completed his mission successfully."

"Was there any doubt, Inquisitor? He is a Space Marine, and a damn fine good one at that."

"Indeed."

* * *

><p>END OF CHAPTER 45<p> 


	46. Chapter 46

I know there are some grammar mistakes and typing errors, but I will get around to them... as soon as I finish writing the new chapters for the Galactic Imperium and the Path to Godhood.

Thanks for reading! I hope you like long chapters...

A hint here though... this is not just Imperium VS Zerg... there is a third faction involved...

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 46<span>**

**Riax Sector – Istandor Subsector**

**Argol System**

**Argol II – Agri-world**

**947.739.M41 – Immediately after the defeat of Zerg forces**

The orbital laser cannons had effectively crushed more than half of the Zerg's air power as well as obliterating several key groups that had gathered to assail the remaining humans. The casualties reached in the millions for the Zerg while the humans suffered barely twenty thousand which included the loss of manpower from fighting the Zerg. The impact of those Zerg deaths had been far greater than anyone had expected. Through the psionic link among the Zerg, the death of millions had crawled up the chain of command, and eventually reached the Overmind.

Within moments of the devastation across the planet where the humans still held control, the Swarm reacted. On the other side of the planet, the Hive Cluster was set upon the dark rocky beaches that randomly connected to minor coastal volcanoes. There on that hostile shores, the single Hive was located amid a handful of Lairs and a dozen or so Hatcheries. Indeed, this was a minor Hive Cluster, and although it was not the only Hive Cluster upon the planet for there were at least a dozen other Hive Clusters across the planet's surface, it was the most advanced thanks to the presence of the lone Hive. Yet, compared what it is usually expected of the Zerg, their presence on this worlds was seriously lacking. Not only was the Swarm on the planet extreme small, its evolutions were much less than they would normally be given that the Swarm had infested this world for many years. Now, this small, seemingly-abandoned Brood had lost its Leviathan as well when the orbital laser cannons bombarded the large asteroid upon which the Brood had set up a small Hive Cluster for the flying units and a dock for the Leviathan. With the Leviathan destroyed, the Brood had lost its biggest advantage on this world. It was also troubling for the Swarm that all the major creatures that it possessed on the planet were destroyed. The Swarm was vulnerable now. Had this Brood been under the command of any competent commander, it would not have ended like this. Indeed, any moderately competent commander would have had conquered the world within years of arriving. Yet, the planet had been cut off for the Zerg as it was for the Imperials.

Without a strong connection to the Overmind or any of the commanders, the Brood had been under the command of a Hiveseer. Hiveseers were competent synaptic node for the Brood but it could not replace the ingenuity, tactical and strategic creativity and a vision of a real commander. Even a Hierach would have done, but a Hiveseer was enough only as to direct the existing Swarm. However, the recent defeat and the a flux of the Warpstorm 'Maw of Kali' had opened up a clear channel to New Char, the homeworld of the Primary Hive Cluster of the Zerg Swarm under the Overmind's command, and that allowed the Brood to inform the Overmind of the failures in taking over this minor planet.

Deep inside the mighty frames of the Hive, a new chamber was formed around the large Khaydarin Crystal. The bone-like frames fractures and shifted, and flesh and muscle contracted and subsided to form a large spherical room with the purple glow of the crystal filling the space. There, a shimmering form appeared. It was like a giant glowing Protoss Archon but with many Zerg characteristics sprouting from it, and it was indeed a Zerg. It was the avatar of the Overmind. In truth, this was but a graphical representation of a tiny fraction of the real Overmind, for Overmind was currently in a deep food coma after swallowing the last portion of the Warpstorm around New Char. Still, the avatar was a powerful psionic being, and its presence sent a psychic shockwave across the surface of the planet, energizing the surviving Zerg and suddenly terrifying the Imperials. Then other avatars appeared within the chamber. The lithe figure of Alena walked out from the wall, also ghostly in her psionic projection. She was followed by her fellow human commanders. Elric, Hargen and Volran appeared alongside her. The Overmind spoke first.

~**This is strange. Even though I am in a hibernation thanks to the last bit of the Warpstorm, the failure to notice this small Brood is unsettling.**~ At the silent words that passed through their psionic connections, the Overmind informed the others of his concern.

~_**I am certain it's this Warpstorm nearby.**_~ Alena answered calmly.

~**I had felt the presence, but I had thought them dormant, perhaps stuck upon a frozen world or such. Where did this Brood come from?**~ The Overmind asked. ~**It is strange that a minor and unimportant world like this planet was on the list of our invasion.**~

Volran stepped forward.

~_**This Brood belongs to Zasz, one of my Hierarchs that I have charged to assail Riax Sector. Yet, this world was still not on anyone's list.**_~ He answered, and he waved his ghostly hand and a new figure appeared.

The projection of a Hierarch appeared but this creature had a set of Ultralisk Kaiser Blades at the ends of its boney wings.

~_**Yes?**_~ The creature asked.

Overmind looked at it, and the creature bowed in deference.

~**Tell me of this Brood. They belong to you, why are they without a commander? Why are they not with you?**~ The Overmind demanded.

~_**The Warpstorm in nearby region of space had temporarily went into great turmoil when we opened a wormhole in this area. I have lost twelve Leviathans during the exit phase, and I have identified nine confirmed deaths of those lost Leviathans.**_~ The Hierach defended itself. ~_**This group must have come from one of the lost three Leviathans that I could not track. However, with the majority of my Brood intact, I proceeded to assail the Riax Sector directly.**_~

The Overmind narrowed his 'eyes' and then nodded as he strode to the middle of the chamber and touched the crystal.

~_**The defeat is unacceptable, whatever the reason... Moreover, the Inquisition had sent its agents. This would be our first encounter with the Imperial Inquisition, and it is much too early for that.**_~ The supreme ruler of the Zerg spoke. ~_**This means that this planet must be secured despite lack of value it holds for us. This Brood needs a commander... A new Patriarch, perhaps.**_~

The Overmind waved his right hand over the Khaydarin Crystal, and a tiny Larva formed within his hand quickly growing into a full-sized Larva within a sphere of energy.

~_**Volran, this Brood stems from your forces, perhaps it should have something from you.**_~ The Overmind commanded.

~**Of course, Overmind.**~ Volran nodded and sent forth a stream of energy that quickly shrouded the Larva.

Once that was done, all but the Overmind and Volran remained within the chamber.

~_**This new creature will be ready within thirty hours. Divert some attention to this planet until the Hierarch is ready, Volran. I must attend to the Eastern Fringe and prepare a massive war against the Ultramarines, the Tau and the Tyranids. I can no longer be distracted by a minor and insignificant world.**_~ Overmind commanded, his tone mildly scolding.

~**Yes, Overmind. It shall be done.**~ Volran replied gingerly, and bowed to his master even as other commanders' avatars slowly dissipated.

The avatar of the Overmind was gone as quickly as it had appeared. However, Volran's avatar remained, and it actually appeared as if it was growing more corporeal. The avatar of the Swarm's heavy-creature specialist stood alone in front of the large cocoon held up in the air by the sheer energy of the Khaydarin Crystal embedded at the foundation of the Hive.

"Now... let's see what had happened." Volran muttered and his voice was no longer distorted nor was it as somber and grave-toned as before.

Volran reached forth and touched the Khaydarin Crystal, and the exterior of the large purple crystal rippled as if it was a calm surface of water disturbed by a drop of water. Then from the crystal came out slivers of energy coiling like angry snake and it entered into the eyes of Volran, and he mere let it happen.

* * *

><p><em>- Flashback -<em>

**New Char**

**High Orbit**

**228.730.M41 (9 years ago)**

The orbit New Char was full of Zerg big and small.

Literally thousands of Leviathans were crowding the spaces between the floating asteroids while beneath them were the gigantic slumbering forms of Zerg Hive Ships slowly crushed their way through the thin asteroid belt as if they were giant whales munching through shrimps and plankton. Between the larger creatures were other Zerg creatures of the space, each as deadly as the next. Raidens moved in small groups of two or three while their variants, Garudas and Mots were surrounding the Zerg Hive Ships and Leviathans. Broodlords and Guardians would gather themselves around the Krakenlisks while the Mutalisks and Corruptors and Devourers moved in giant streams, perhaps like a large school of sardines under the water.

Most of the Leviathans were young things and born only very recently since the Overmind had made the most recent changes in their genetic makeup.

While they were not as large as the Leviathans used by Kerrigan back in the original Starcraft dimension, the Leviathans of the new Swarm had several key improvements over their original versions. The most distinctive feature of the new Leviathans were their numbers. Unlike the original Zerg, the new Swarm was immense in size, and the Leviathans were also needed to be as numerous to fulfill the role of battle carriers that can ferry massive number of creatures at once. To this end, the Overmind standardized the Leviathans to mere two kilometers in length, where its beam would reach nearly one kilometer, making the creature more 'fat' than 'long'. This standardization and relative reduction in initial size allowed the Swarm to hatch many Leviathans at once, and within relatively short period of time. Given enough resources and evolutionary clearance from the Overmind, a small Brood could theoretically hatch a single Leviathan within a hundred days, and much earlier if the Brood could devour more souls to fuel its growth.

The second key improvement to the Leviathans were the increased offensive arrays. They normally relied heavily on the massive tentacles that reached for nearly three kilometers, but given the nature of space warfare in the Warhammer 40K galaxy, the Overmind decided to add a little spice to the palette. On the front part of a Leviathan, five Spore Cannons were grown in symbiosis. The Spore Cannons were slow firing weapons but merged with Protoss technology, it could fire a deadly volley of acid blob highly charged with molecular disruption field. This would allow the acid to bypass the thick armor since the disruption field would weaken and dissolve the armor's hard surface. Along with the Spore Cannons, a dozen groupings of pores for Scourges were created along the large creature's body. Each pore groups would be capable of sending forth a hundred Scourges with each shooting where the little suicide fliers would be wrapped in psionic field then flung at the enemy over a distance of nearly a thousand kilometers before the Scourge takes charge of its own flight. Given the number of pore groupings and the sixty-seconds required by each pore grouping to prepare a new swarm of Scourges, a Leviathan could fire up to twelve hundred Scourges every minute if fired in a consecutive firing pattern. The additional armament for the Leviathan did not end with the Spore Cannons and Scourge pores.

The spawning rates for Mutalisks and Gattlisks were greatly improved, but Leviathans could now spawn Corruptors as well. While Mutalisks would spawn in groups of twenty-five with the maximum of twelve-hundred fifty Mutalisks that could be controlled and coordinated, the Corruptors would spawn in groups of five, and apart from Mutalisks, the Levithan could still command a hundred twenty five Corruptors at once under its direct control without the need of any Overlord or similar synaptic nodes. Finally, the Leviathans gained several Protoss-based weapons as well. Capable of firing a dozen volleys from its belly-mounted harmonic disruptor ports that literally disrupts the energy pattern of the target until its subatomic parts disassemble from each other, causing massive fission reaction, the Leviathan also gained strong orbital bombardment capability. These extra offensive capability made the Leviathans dangerous, and their number, now counting in thousands, made them that much more dangerous.

However, it was not just the nearly ten-thousand strong fleet of Leviathans that slowly milled around between the gaggles of Mutalisks and other lesser fliers.

More numerous than the Levithans by at least three times were the Raidens. Since their conception, the Raidens went through only minor alterations, given their role as primary space-battle creatures. However, the Raidens were given the ability to morph into variants. While the Raidens by themselves were useful creatures against swarms of enemy fighters or lesser creatures or to protect the fleet against enemy long-ranged weapons like missiles and torpedoes, their weakness in dealing with enemy capital ships had to be considered.

To this end, the Overmind created two other variants of Raidens. It is despite the fact that the Raidens and their ability to exert massive field of electromagnetic disruption field that would even veer away a Lance attack or shatter a torpedo proves their existence vital in the Zerg fleet that currently lacks super-long-ranged attacks.

The first variant is the Garuda, a name taken from the mythical creature from Hindu religion. It is a western-equivalent of phoenix since it is bird of fire. The Overmind had considered both creatures and had created a powerful weapon against the long-ranged strategies that various factions in the galaxy utilizes. Wreathed in Protoss Archon-like flames of psionic power, the Garuda is bigger than Raiden. Reaching nearly five kilometers in length, the body of a Garuda is more robust with thick coils of muscles and tough carapace. It also has large wings that reaches nearly two kilometers with wider wing-span, and its wings are far from boney. Its 'feathers' are actually giant spines, much like the spines fired by Hydralisk. Yet, each of Garuda's spines is a living creature of great malice and psionic power. Once launched by the Garuda when its flaps its wings, a dozen or so spines would fly toward the enemy, flung by the psionic catapult. Each spine, almost five meters in length and as thick as the Washington Monument, would then cause a small Warp-jump. This Warp-jump is of the Starcraft technology, so common even among the Terrans, the Protoss and the Zerg when needing to move a relatively short distance, such as between two planets within the same solar system.

In any case, the spine would then reappear after about three seconds of Warp-jump, which allows it to travel almost thirty thousand kilometers. Once it reaches the enemy ship, the plasma shield surrounding the spine would allow the Zerg's long-range ammunition to pierce the enemy's energy shield, then the Psi Blade effect surrounding the spine would allow the weapon to slice in through the armor. Once it has pierced the armor, the unstable Khaydarin Crystal inside would fill the honeycomb structures of the spine, which then causes fission reaction among the super-dense element that fills the spine's core. The resulting explosion, tested by the Overmind upon a hapless asteroid, was quite satisfactory. Also, defended by six Spore Cannons and scores of Spore Crawlers, and the thermo-dynamic acid blast from its mouth allows the Garuda to be well-protected.

The second variant of the Raiden was the Mot. Derived from the Semitic deity of death, this variant is born from a Raiden but is significantly smaller. In fact, for each Raiden that morphs, a dozen Mot are created. Each is no more than one kilometer long and looking like giant bloated eel with a thousand tentacles with its belly swelled up like a puffer fish. While not technically an offensive creature, each Mot contains the abilities of Infester magnified and multiplied a hundred thousand times. Each Mot is a slippery creature weaving back and forth between enemy ships and then grabbing onto a suitable enemy with its long and strong tentacles. Digging through the enemy's armor with its drill-like tongues, for there are fifteen such tongues, the Mot would unleash up to a hundred thousand Infested, fully upgraded with adrenaline boost for increased attack speed, upgraded movement through digitigrade legs, plagued spines for their bio-rifles, additional claws for their empty hand and thicker carapace for defense. Along with the sudden rush of invading Zerg infantry, the enemy's ship would also flood with thick mist of Zerg virus and toxic bacteria while endless flood of Creep would cover everything within the structure.

The last of the new Zerg space force were the Krakenlisk variants. Like how the Raidens were divided into the original and two variants, the Krakenlisks were divided into the original and the variant. The Overmind had felt the need for a large Kraken-like creature but also felt that the Zerg Swarm should stick to its baseline strategy of overwhelming numbers, and the new variant 'Krakenling' was created. In similar birthing method as the Mot, a Krakenlisk mutates into fifty Krakenlings.

The Krakenlisk had been evolved into a monstrous creature comparable in size to the Leviathans or even the Zerg Hive Ship. Not including its eight primary tentacles, the body of a Krakenlisk reached nearly two kilometers while the width of the creature's tube-like form was thicker even than a Leviathan. Its primary weapon was the set of eight massively long and horrendously thick primary tentacles that grew out of the mounds around its gaping maw filled with sharp teeth and a dozen long drill-tongues. Surrounding the primary tentacles that came with huge suckers that generated some sort of 'tractor beam'-like effect were the eighty secondary tentacles, which were admittedly thinner than the primaries, but long and more nubile than the thick and ungainly primary tentacles. A Krakenlisk would wrap its primary tentacles around enemy ship and would hold on tightly even as the twelve drill-tongues made holes within the enemy armor while the powerful Prismatic Beam would shoot out from the depth of the creature's mouth followed by a torrent of acid. All the while this primary attack is going on, the eighty secondary tentacles would flay the enemy's vessel into pieces, each tentacle encased in Warp Blade effect of the Dark Templar's deadly weapon.

The tentacles allowed the Krakenlisk to deal with small and medium starships but they were useless against tiny fighters and bombers. To deal with that, the Krakenlisk also carried with it plenty of other defenses. With a hundred Spore Crawlers and Spine Crawlers swarming its thick carapace as anti-fighter and anti-boarding defenses, the thick protective skins of the Krakenlisk also maintained two new defenses as well. All along the body of the Krakenlisk were tiny pores that would spew out thick smog of toxic gas mixed with micro-organism that worked like a combination of Defiler's Dark Swarm and Viper's Blinding Cloud. This development was actually from Defiler's ability since the Overmind did not know about the Viper since James Raynor only knew very few things about the Heart of the Swarm expansion. Still, the thick veil of smog disabled and weakened the enemy fighter, and though they could shoot blindly, the smog would negate a large amount of damage. The second defense method stems from a hundred strange growths just above the roots of the secondary tentacles. Each of these nodes would project a beam of energy that disassembled the target's molecular bonds and consumes the materials to heal the Krakenlisk. Although it could only handle a hundred targets at once, it would be a valuable weapon against the likes of Tyranids or Orks who would operate such numerous small vehicles against the Krakenlisk.

Born from these Krakenlisks were the Krakenlings. Each Krakenlisk is capable of turning into fifty Krakenlings and a single Krakenlisk seed that grows back into a Krakenlisk given enough resources and time. With twenty four Overlords pouring Creep upon the seed in a twelve Overlord rotation every six hours, one such seed could birth a brand new Krakenlisk within seventy day.

Krakenlings themselves were smaller creatures. Reaching no more than one hundred meters in length and looking more like giant squid with several extra tentacles than an octopus-like Krakenlisk, these Krakenlings were quite deadly. They have forty eight very long and nimble tentacles that reach up to two kilometers normally hidden within its body. When attacking an enemy, these Krakenlings spreads half of their tentacles in a circle and grab each others' tentacles, forming a net of tentacles. Then using the other half of the tentacles, they would create up to four large balls of highly disruptive energy laced with the creature's psionic malice. Each ball of energy would fly through the space at a relatively slow speed and would reach no more than five thousand kilometers, but it would then create subspace tremor that would block the connection between the realspace and the Warp while dissolving any unprotected organic materials into amino acids. This allows the Zerg Swarm to create a perfect trap against the enemy, particularly against races such as humans or the Eldar or the Chaos forces by disabling their transition to the Warp, effectively cutting off any avenues for escape. While ineffective against the Necrons or the well-armored Tau, the Krakenling trap would also work excellently against the ill-protected Ork forces or the biological Tyranids. In order to fight the Necrons, the Krakenlings could change their attacks into crystalline disruptor, which would re-crystallize any metallic compounds into their elements, but this attack would allow the enemy to access the Warp.

All this, however, meant very little to Volran, for he had seen this awe-inspiring view himself nine years ago, and seeing it from a lowly Hiveseer's view wasn't much impressive. Yet, he was compelled to go on watching. He needed to know what had happened to this particular Brood that had gone awry, and he needed to know where he could start fixing it.

The Hiveseer moved through the space, evading smaller rocks and squeezing past two large boulders. It was escorted by a dozen Overseers and a hundred Mutalisks, but such escorts were not really necessary above the Zerg's home planet. The Hiveseer saw its designated Leviathan, and it felt the hundreds of thousands of creatures inside the belly of the great beast. There was enough space for at least a thousand Overlords, and a special cozy chamber for the commanding beast like a Hierarch, Patriarch or a Matriarch. The Hiveseer could use that place too if it wanted.

The psionic control of the Hiveseer was great indeed, and it could feel four hundred Hydralisks coming under its direct control while each of the twelve Overseers controlled about one hundred Hydralisks or Roaches. Then there was the psionic control of the thousand Overlords, each capable of controlling eighty Drones or equivalent of such number. Added on top of that was the psionic control exerted by the Leviathan itself, and this huge lumbering beast was capable of directly commanding an army of two thousand Drones even with most of its powerful consciousness focused in trying to maintain its own massive body.

Despite such powerful control, the sheer number of Zerg within the belly of the Leviathan was such that majority of Zerg forces remained in deep hibernation, so that they were kept from going feral within the belly of the beast. Until a Hive Cluster can be constructed and the immense psionic presence of the Overmind could be felt throughout the Brood, these Zerg units would remain dormant.

The Hiveseer did not waste its control over the dormant creatures. Indeed, once it had checked its controls over the Hydralisks and relocated the creatures to optimal position within the Leviathan to protect the Hiveseer and the Overseers, the minor commanding creature focused its psionic links to the Mutalisks and other small flying units swarming around the Leviathan. Outside the Leviathan were another thousand Overlords and they were controlling forty thousand Mutalisks and Gattlisks while the thousand Overlords inside the Leviathan controlled the Brood Lords, Guardians, Scourers, Corruptors and Devourers.

Two Raidens came beside the Leviathan along with a single Krakenlisk and a Garuda, each massive creature exerting their own psionic control over a host of Mutalisks and Corruptors. Volran waited patiently as this particular Hiveseer's Leviathan readied itself. Thus far there was no action of Hiveseer that was actually the creature's own since Volran could feel the presence of the Hierarch Zasz, the creature given the name of the dead Cerebrate. The Overmind had a strange fondness for the names and colors of the old Overmind's Swarm. Although the Overmind used Kerrigan's Brood Mothers as the basis of Patriarchs, Matriarchs and Hierarchs, they were given the names of Cerebrates now long dead, and their Broods were given the colors and names of such. The Garm Brood of Hierarch Zasz was given a shade of orange color, and Volran thought it was strange. He much preferred the deep blood red of the Tiamat Brood commanded by Daggoth, a subordinate of the Blood Master. As for Volran, he did not really like Zasz, despite it being his second-in-command, and treated the Hierarch as some kind of ugly pet, often chastising it with psionic strikes. Of course, Zasz was often deserving of such treatment, with the current event as a prime example of Zasz's incompetence.

The scene quickly flipped past and Volran saw Zasz's Zerg Hive Ship bloated full of millions upon millions of Zerg causing a wormhole and leading the fleet of a hundred Leviathans and their numerous escorts, including thirty Krakenlisks. The visual continued to shift until the Leviathan finally entered the wormhole then after a while the wormhole began to destabilize, and Volran felt the connection between Zasz and the Hiveseer severed by a violent torrent of the Warp crackling through the wormhole and snatching away several Leviathans.

Then something strange happened.

Volran tried but the Hiveseer could not remember a large part of its ordeal. The next it remembered was that it and the gravely wounded Leviathan was hurtling through space, crashing through gas clouds, meteors and solar flares, and then eventually grazing across the massive asteroid field wrapping the planet Argol II. A large gap was made by the Leviathan screaming and rolling through the asteroid field, causing more damage to the creature. There were no more escorts. Volran found it strange that a thousand Overlords and a Krakenlisk and a Garuda and so many Mutalisks that closely followed this Leviathan was gone and from what Volran felt, there was no more Leviathan and the only thing that had any real memory of the past was the Hiveseer and its memories were incomplete.

Even more strange was that the Warp had somehow flung the Leviathan through time as well. In fact, the Hiveseer and the Leviathan had landed upon the planet four years before it entered the wormhole at the New Char. The temporal disharmony was felt by the psionically sensitive Hiveseer and its abilities and command was gravely reduced, and it was only the last vestige of power left in the Leviathan that allowed the Brood to land some Drones and build up its forces. In fact, the Hiveseer had less than fifty Overlords left and with no Overseer to aid it. Moreover, their limit of control had nearly halved, and the Hiveseer only had a handful of Zerg units left with it. Barely two thousand Zerglings and four hundred or so Hydralisks and Roaches, along with a couple of higher-end creatures including one Banelord and a couple of Ultralisks were all they had. It was truly fortunate that the Leviathan's special sections for Drones were undamaged, leaving the Hiveseer to rebuild its forces from four hundred Drones.

_~End Flashback~_

* * *

><p><strong>949.739.M41<strong>

**Present Day**

"What had happened?" Volran mused as he walked through the memory. "What had caused this? This was no mere trouble with the Warp... Something is gravely wrong here..."

The images passed him by, and he saw how the wounded Hiveseer with its psionic connection cut off and the planet shrouded by a thin veil of psychic disruption that the Zerg on the planet could not reconnect to the Swarm.

"Most curious... It is as if someone has tempered with the Hiveseer's memory, and caused such massive damage. Yet, I cannot think of anyone who could do this, or why... If someone had the power to defeat the Leviathan's escort and wound the creature so, and to damage the Hiveseer's brain until it lost such large chunks of memory, then why didn't they finish off the rest?" Volran muttered as he slipped out from the memory of the Hiveseer.

Even as Volran's curiosity grew, the Hive Cluster suddenly buzzed with a desperate alarm. Volran quickly turned back to the crystal and his eyes flared up in psionic power as he accessed the Hive Cluster's psionic network.

"The humans are attacking one of the outer Hive Clusters. This I cannot allow." Volran growled as he touched the crystal once more.

"This is Volran, your Brood Master. I am bypassing all command from the Hiveseer, and I am recalling the Hiveseer back to the primary Hive Cluster." He commanded, "And I am mobilizing 11th and 19th Zergling assault groups to the Hive Cluster Zaval. All of the Overlords in Hive Cluster Menun, switch your controls to the creatures in Zaval Cluster and put the Menun's units in hibernation until ordered."

Volran's command continued as he rerouted several groups of remaining Zerg forces to aid the Hive Cluster on the very edge of the Zerg's influence upon this world. Yet, Volran knew that he could not save the Hive Cluster from his current location, nor could he actually move out from the very chamber he was in. His connection to this planet was heavily dependent upon the large Khaydarin Crystal at the base of this Hive.

"Tsk... Only if even one tenth of the creatures within the Leviathans were alive, it would have been much easier." Volran groaned as he finally decided to do what he thought was needed. "Now, I've got to waste my energy for this..."

From Volran's avatar came a torrent of incredible psionic energy, and the Khaydarin Crystal glowed bright. Even as the crystal reacted to the energy pouring into it, the whole of the Hive shuddered and went into overdrive, eventually birthing a Queen within a minute.

"A Queen... but I need a Patriarch..."

Even more energy was dumped into the crystal, and the Queen, standing right outside the Hive, roared as it was swallowed up by its own cocoon.

"Now, to deliver this commanding creature... Good! There is a Nydus Network here."

A MegaDrone appeared from one of the mineshafts and picked up the large cocoon that pulsed with psionic energy. It carried the cocoon to the large squirming pit of Nydus worms, and disappeared into those gaping maws.

* * *

><p><strong>950.739.M41<strong>

**Hive Cluster Zaval – Hill T29**

Hive Cluster Zaval was the name randomly given to the Hive Cluster after the Hiveseer devoured the mind of several humans and found that the location of the Hive Cluster was the Zaval Hills, the primary source of iron on this mineral-poor planet. Zaval Cluster was a small hive cluster, with its primary structure being a Lair and there were only three other Hatcheries sparsely dispersed upon the broadest of the twenty nine hill mounds. The Drones had drilled six mineshafts, not including four made by the humans. This place was as important to the Brood as it was to the humans. The hills were very good source of iron, and while the Hiveseer found other sources, none were as good as the hills, though the Brood did not need iron exclusively. It was just convenient this way.

It was a nice and quiet little Hive Cluster. It had a Spawning Pool for the production of the Zerglings, and a Baneling Nest as well as Roach Mound and Hydralisk Den. It was a perfect little colony for the Zerg, that used very little gas but still capable of creating a decent army given the resource. The Hiveseer had a MegaDrone dig an especially deep shaft right into the ground and extract the volcanic gas, but it was certainly not enough for the Hive Cluster to make a large army of Roaches and Hydralisks, but it was enough to make small groups of them. Instead of units, the defenses were foisted upon the Crawlers. A dozen Spore Crawlers were moved from Hive Cluster Menun, located near the Menun Lake and the nearest Zerg colony to Zaval Cluster. Forty Spine Crawlers were morphed at various locations, particularly around the two main passages formed between the wide but quite high hills. The valley between the Hills 'T11' and 'T13' was wide enough for a single column of tanks to move through while the valley between 'T25' and 'T26' through to 'T28' was not wide enough for tanks but was enough for infantry to reach the 'T29', where the Hive Cluster was located and where the old human settlement had been.

The Hive Cluster also had its own troops too. Controlled by fifteen Overlords, the Hive Cluster maintained a labor force of five hundred Drones digging deep within the mineshafts, and this allowed the Hive Cluster to maintain a small army of creatures. Normally, its compliment of a sixty Hydralisks, one hundred thirty Roaches reinforcing fifty Banelings and four hundred eighty Zerglings would be enough and leave some room for the Overlords, but after the Orbital Laser Cannons had struck down all but four of the Overlords, the Hive Cluster went on the brink of going feral. It was only the quick activation of hibernation protocol by the Hiveseer allowed the Hive Cluster to maintain a semblance of control. Even so, most of the controls were now focused on maintaining the Drones so that the Hive Cluster could gather enough resources to birth more Overlords. Even as Volran prepared a Patriarch to command the Hive Cluster, six Larvae had been turned into cocoon to become Overlords. Yet, unlike in the game, creatures took time to grow, particularly when it came to the improved Overlords. While the Overmind's improvements had allowed the exerted control to increase by ten times the original Overlords, they were now more expensive and slow to grow.

* * *

><p><strong>950.739.M41<strong>

**Mobile Command Chimera – Hill T03**

"What about the Leman Russ tanks? Can't they squeeze through the eastern pass?" Someone asked.

"No, I'm afraid not, colonel. At best, we can have Stormtroopers move through there to flank the enemy." A Captain answered as he moved his finger along the passage he was talking about. "While it is considerably shorter and easier path, it does leave our infantry to very vulnerable positions here and here."

The Imperial commanders looked at the two points on the paper map, since the holographic map was unavailable. The two hillsides that were pointed out to them had cliff-like sections that effectively funneled the infantry into narrow path that could barely squeeze through two men while the rest of that path was much wider.

"Then we must rely on the tanks rolling through the southern path. With infantry escort, I can push through all of my nine Leman Russes through here in no time at all." One of the Colonels in different Imperial Guard color spoke. "If I could have some Basilisk support, it would make it much easier though. I am certain that these foul xenos would try to block our path. I rather not waste ammunition before we could get to their disgusting xeno-nests."

He was talking to another officer who nodded.

"You shall have our support, colonel. Take some of my spotters with you, and they can direct our mighty cannons to rain down Emperor's wrath upon the xeno forces." The colonel of the Basilisk-controlling Regiment answered in seeming cordiality. "However, my Basilisks will need to take control of T05 first before we can bring to bear our guns into proper range and arc. Captain, could you have your infantry to take the hill T05 first?"

The captain who was making several marking on the map considered the request.

"Colonel, our scan suggests that the Hill T05 contains a couple of xeno structures and creatures. With most of my men devoted into escorting the armored column and my Stormtroopers taking the eastern passage, I could only spare few men." He narrowed his eyes as he pointed at the target were two red triangles were drawn. "Could your Basilisks send a barrage upon it first, colonel? Once pounded with heavy guns, perhaps my men could take the hill."

However, the colonel in charge of the Basilisks shook his head.

"If my Basilisks were to catch up with the armored column, I need them to move first, and that hill must be taken."

"Then we have no other option. We must ask for Valkyries from Rugale." The Captain spat the words as if he tasted something foul.

"That damn man cannot see how this factionalism is endangering us all." The colonel in charge of the armored column replied. "The Inquisitor has convinced most of us about fighting the xenos but that damned stubborn fool Vegin refuses to budge."

" Vegin is a coward! He hides behind his fortress and refuses to aid the other Regiments, who had been on this planet a lot longer than his own forces." The colonel of the Basilisks growled as he pounded the table.

"Well, the Inquisitor told me that if we asked for it, he will make the Valkyries fly no matter what Vegin says. I rather want to trust the word of the Inquisitor over my doubts about Vegin." The captain said, and the commanders nodded.

"Very well. Request a series of bombing runs, captain. We shall move to its tune."

"Yes, colonel." The captain answered and was about to exit the Chimera to find his Vox Operator when the door of the Command Chimera jerked open.

"Captain!" It was the Vox Operator.

"What is it Corporal Unke?"

"We have five aircrafts approaching us from south east, sir. They have identified themselves as the Inquisitor and his retinue."

The commanders suddenly stood upright, coming to attention, for indeed the name of Inquisition had made them so afraid despite it all.

"I see, and when will they arrive, corporal?" One of the colonels asked.

"They will be here within minutes, colonel."

"You said five aircrafts?" The captain asked as he straightened his uniform. "What is the composition of this Inquisitorial visit?"

"One Thunderhawk and four Valkyries, captain."

The captain nodded grimly.

"Just as I have heard... They say the Inquisitor comes with a Thunderhawk and a compliment of Adeptus Astartes..."

At the mention of Space Marines, the commanders froze further.

"Of which chapter?" The colonel of the armored regiment demanded.

"At least one from the Ultramarines and a squad of 'Deathwatch' Astartes."

"Deathwatch? So the Inquisitor is Ordo Xenos? I was half afraid he was Ordo Hereticus and would execute us the moment this crisis is over." One of them said, and they all nodded.

Indeed, they had only spoken to the Inquisitor briefly through Vox Communication, and though they were convinced of the need to work together to survive the xeno attack, they did not know much of the Inquisitor, and they assumed that it was a deliberate tactic on the Inquisitor's part to sow a sense of fear among the officers.

"Still, he is an Inquisitor. Let us show our bravest faces." The captain spoke, and they all agreed.

* * *

><p><strong>Inquisitorial Thunderhawk 'Deathbringer'<strong>

"So, they have a hierarchy of creatures, and the ones higher up in their chain of command have direct control over the lesser creatures?" Hadrian asked as he tugged at his shoulder pauldrons.

"It appears to be so, Inquisitor. This fact makes the xenos quite dangerous, yet it does reveal a critical weakness in their forces." Titus answered grimly. "They are beast-like creatures but they are unlike any enemies I have seen, and it would be a dire mistake should we brush them off as nuisance."

Hadrian chuckled.

"I am Ordo Xenos Inquisitor, Captain Titus. I never consider xenos as nuisance. Each race of aliens is an equal and sufficient threat to the Imperium, and it is my job to be vigilant about them." Hadrian answered as he reached forth and grabbed the piece of Zergling claw that Titus held in his hand.

"How strange... Fully organic weapons grown not made... and a race of xenos that has totally different appearance for each of their warrior caste. This is unlike any other races we have seen." Hadrian pondered. "In my many years of service, I have seen many xenos, and thus far they were mostly humanoid in form, and they had a singular appearance and simply changed their environment to suit their needs. This... Zerg... is different. They change themselves to suit the situation."

Hadrian narrowed his eyes as he rand the tip of the Zergling claw on the metal seat next to him, and the scraping noise made people to shudder.

"I think we have made a great discovery about the nature of these xeno creatures, and our discovery will aid the Imperium in exterminating this... xeno infestation."

"I agree." Chaplain Matoras answered from the dark corner within the bulk of the Thunderhawk. "Be assured in your faith of the God Emperor and the will and the might of the Imperium, for we shall prevail over all enemies, without or within, amen."

At the prayer of the Deathwatch Chaplain, the Inquisitor, Captain Titus and the two other Deathwatch Space Marines bowed their heads in the reverence of his words.

"Amen."

* * *

><p><strong>END OF CHAPTER 46<strong>


	47. Chapter 47

Sorry for the very long delay. My life is rather busy and hectic at the moment, as I am in an overdrive to lose weight get fit.

This naturally leaves very little time for me to spend on anything other than working out at the gym or sleeping off the exhaustion.

Also, I am looking for a Beta Reader if anyone is interested in it... I feel like I need it now that my writing is getting slower, I feel the need to give you more refined version.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 47<strong>

**Riax Sector – Istandor Subsector**

**Argol System**

**Argol II – Agri-world**

**950.739.M41**

**Mobile Command Chimera – Hill T03**

"Inquisitor." The captain said as he bowed his head lightly in respect.

"Captain Paris, I presume." Hadrian answered, and the soldier nodded.

"Yes, sir."

"Good, now inform me of your plan to retake this area." The Inquisitor asked, but he wasn't quite convinced of the Imperial commanders. "What are your plans?"

The colonel of the tank column spoke up first.

"I am Colonel Gantaro, Inquisitor. I lead the 182nd Istandor Armored Regiment, or what is left of once great force of Imperium's finest tanks." The colonel answered with his pride still with the decimated regiment he commanded.

"Ah, yes... We have spoken through the Vox Cannel before." Hadrian acknowledged the Gantaro, and the colonel nodded back. "What is the disposition of your forces, colonel. I remember hearing that your regiment was about to be disbanded... or at least that was what General Vegin has claimed."

Gantaro's eyes suddenly filled with anger at the mention of Vegin.

"I still command seventeen Leman Russ tanks, Lord Inquisitor! I still have fourteen Chimeras full of heavily armed Guardsmen, and six Hellhounds ready to unleash scorching hell upon the xenos! My men will not be scattered like sheep beset by a wolf, sir!"

Hadrian smiled at the colonel's brave words.

"Good sentiment, colonel. I hope that you can keep your words, because I will need your tanks to do their work."

"You can count on it, Inquisitor." Gantaro declared loudly and banged his fist upon the chest plate of his armor.

Hadrian then turned to the other colonel.

"And you are?"

"Colonel McGrath, sir. I lead the artillery pieces of Istandor 104th Light Armored Regiment, though most of my forces have now been subsumed by General Vegin." McGrath chuckled darkly.

"Then what forces do you have left under your command, colonel?"

"I have seven Basilisks, two Hydra Flak Tanks, three Chimeras, eight Heavy Weapons Teams and fifteen squads of Guardsmen, Inquisitor. It is not much, but it is all I have." McGrath said, and it was clear in his tone that he was hoping for Hadrian to mediate something between him and General Vegin.

Hadrian frowned.

"You said that General Vegin, the overall commander of the Imperial Guard forces on the planet, had subsumed the command of your forces. What did he take from you, colonel?" The Inquisitor asked casually.

"Since the destruction of my First and Second companies, he took my Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth companies and relocated them to the defense of the Rugale Fortress, leaving me with undermanned Third, Sixth and Tenth companies."

"That doesn't sound too bad. Three companies is a decent force." Hadrian baited the colonel.

"Those three companies had suffered over eighty percent casualty rates, Inquisitor. I was left with a force that was barely double my current forces, and since then I have lost more than half of the remaining forces when those damned laser cannons rained down hell upon us as well as the xenos." McGrath railed against Vegin and the supposed slight he felt in being relieved of command over most of his forces.

"I suppose those companies that Vegin took control had suffered less casualties?"

"They were at almost full strength, my lord. It took me three years to get them to such level. The Fourth and the Fifth have combined armored power of twenty Leman Russ Tanks supported by nearly eighty Chimeras. The Ninth Company has eight Manticores and sixteen Basilisks supported by twenty two Hydra Flak Tanks." McGrath was almost frothing from his mouth. "Then when the xeno forces struck hard in the north, Vegin pulled those forces back! If I had my one hundred Sentinels and three thousand Guardsmen in the Seventh Company, I would not have lost the battle at the Checkpoint Gamma-Nine! If I had the firepower of the Ninth Company, I would have driven back the xeno forces from the Plantation Two-Two-Seven! It is an outrage, Lord Inquisitor!"

Hadrian nodded as he heard the colonel's ventilation of his pent-up feelings.

"I will see what I can do to return those forces that rightly belong under your command, colonel. You can trust my words on it." Hadrian promised, and that made McGrath really happy.

"If you could do what you promise here, Inquisitor, I will follow you to the maw of the Maelstrom itself if need be." The colonel swore a vow, and the Inquisitor nodded in approval.

Hadrian finally turned to the captain.

"Captain Paris, what of your forces?"

"Since the death of Colonel Olrean, I have taken command of the First, the Third and the Fourth companies, and whoever remained in our regiment." The young captain explained calmly, which was unlike the two Colonels.

Hadrian raised an eyebrow at how different this man was. Captain Paris was a man who could keep a cool head even when subtly provoked by a psychic power to goad them into emotional upheaval. This was a positive thing.

"What is the total strength of your regiment, captain?"

"I have eleven squads of Stormtroopers, forty six Heavy Weapons Squads and one hundred seventy Guardsmen Squads, total of five thousand five hundred ten men, including officers. These are supported by thirty one Chimeras and four Hellhounds, my lord." The captain calmly briefed the Inquisitor.

"That is an impressive number considering the heavy losses your fellow regiments have suffered during their defenses."

"We have been trying to recruit as many local manpower so as to recover from our losses, but with the local manufacturing capability is only at par with any normal Agri World, so we can only recruit as many as we have our lasguns." Captain Paris explained, and Hadrian nodded.

"Well, I have brought with me some weapons and munitions for the defenders of this world, and I dare say I can convince General Vegin to release some of the armories in the Rugale Fortress. After all, hoarding weapons at times like these... is almost heretical."

"Of course, Inquisitor."

With the briefing of troop disposition over, Hadrian smiled again.

"Very good. Now, let me introduce my people, who will aid you in retaking this vital position." Hadrian declared as he gestured to Titus. "This is Captain Titus of the Ultramarines, and he was the one that made the reactivation of the orbital laser cannons possible, thus crippling the xeno forces."

Titus nodded and the three Imperial Guard commanders bowed their heads in respect and fear.

"This is Chaplain Matoras of the Deathwatch." Hadrian pointed to the giant with skull-helmet whose baleful visors glared at them.

"It is an honor, my lords." Captain Paris said, and Matoras nodded slowly.

"Now that introduction is over, let's talk about tactics."

* * *

><p><strong>952.739.M41<strong>

**Mobile Command Chimera – Hill T05**

The battle began at the Hill Terra-Zero-Five.

The hill had been infested with Zerg forces, and two Spore Crawlers and a single Spine Crawler had taken root there on the top of the hill where a Nutrient Pit was serviced by two dozen Drones that picked up the endless mounds of ore that had been dug up by the MegaDrones down deep in the shafts. Around the Nutrient Pit were the Zerg creatures originally assigned to defend the strategically important hill, and they had been lying dormant since the Hiveseer had decided to keep them dormant rather than as feral Zerg.

If that had remained the case, it would have been a simple matter for the Imperials to take the hill, since the Spore and Spine Crawlers would have remained dormant as well, and Drones were notably well-known about their focus when working.

That was not the case this time around. The moment that the Overmind's avatar had appeared in the bowels of the primary Hive on this world, every Zerg creature on the planet had been awakened, and though they were still mostly feral without enough control through the Overlords, it was just a matter of time. Once Volran took control, five of the Drones had diverted course after dropping off ores, and then planted themselves on the Creep. Empowered by Volran's psionic energy, the five Zerg structures grew quickly, but everything had its price, and the uncanny speed of their growth required a physical connection between a powerful psionic and the subject to truly give birth to the creature. That was something Volran could not do, for he was near Bakka, assembling his own mighty Brood to assail the regions around the Imperial Naval stronghold.

The night came and the moonless night upon this agri-world, and the hills were now covered in such thick mist that one could barely see a foot in front of them. It was a perfect night for the Imperials to make their attack. Whirring sounds of engines were heard from afar, but the Zerg creatures did not wake from their slumber. The first wake were the two Spore Crawlers. With the evolution of the Swarm, the ranges of detection and of weapons-fire were dramatically increased compared to their original versions. Even their physical forms had been altered. Their stalks were longer and were made of five layers, whereas they only had three before. Also, there were three bulbous sacs attached to the base of the stalk, and they contained the larger and improved Seeker Spores. These two Spore Crawlers had detected the presence and approach of three non-Zerg fliers into their range of detection even through the thick mist. Their powerful psionic sensory system alerted them to the three metal objects and they were coming fast. They reacted as their biologically programmed instincts told them to do. A Seeker Spore was loaded into the tube-like stalk, then charged with psionic energy and was launched at an incredible velocity.

One of the key factors about the improved Seeker Spores was that their accuracy had dramatically increased, and the result was revealed when the two Seeker Spores that was fired at the three attackers hit their target. The three Valkyries, flown directly from the Rugale Fortress and loaded with bombs were suddenly struck with large puff of highly corrosive and explosive spore pods. One of the Valkyries were struck right in the cockpit window, and the large spherical spore as big as an adult male's head had buried itself in the window before exploding. The dark green flames seared the windows before the boiling acid began to eat away at the vehicle's front. The other Valkyrie struck with the spore was a little luckier, having the spore explode right on its belly. Losing a landing gear was better than losing an engine. Yet, their relief did not last long as the Spore Crawlers continued to fire their deadly munitions at the Valkyries. The Imperial fliers returned fire too, and their nose-mounted multi-laser and the rockets from the wing-mounted pods released their own munitions against the Zerg defenders.

Even as one of the Valkyries were shot down, its cockpit and one of its wings set ablaze and its passengers dropping off screaming from the acid shower they had received, the rockets exploded all around the Spore Crawlers and the creature-structures writhed in pain. Yet, they were designed against feeling intense pain. They only felt enough pain to register damage. Instead, they sought to double their attacks, felling the second Valkyrie before the door-mounted Heavy Bolters from the third and yet undamaged Valkyrie finally managed to cause critical damage to the Spore Crawlers. One of the Spore Crawlers exploded in a great fountain of blood and guts, and unspent spores shot upwards in a horrible display of acid spray.

Incensed by the attack, the Zerg creatures came crawling out from every hole into which that they had buried themselves.

Hydralisks roared in a harsh voice while the Zerglings growled and howled and Roaches clicked their mandibles. However, the Zerg creatures assembled there were too few to defend against a full Imperial incursion. After all, there were less than a hundreds Hydralisks and Roaches combined and barely two hundred Zerglings, and no creature of higher echelon. It almost appeared that the surprise attack by the Imperials had failed. Then came the shells. Seven devastating explosions shattered the Zerg in their tracks, majority of the now-waking Zerg creatures were broken asunder under the fire of the seven Basilisks. Then another barrage came and this time it even hit the structures, and one of the Hatchery's main spines that held up the structure was broken. Yet, Imperial attack would not stop at such meager attack. Indeed, such prognostication proved true when six Valkyries quickly followed the first three and a Thunderhawk landed at the edge of the Creep field. The Hydralisks and Spore Crawlers did their best as the rockets and heavy bolter rounds rained death all around the Zerg.

The situation seemed hopeless for the Swarm.

From the steep paths up to the hill, Chimeras bore Guardsmen with their weapons. They marched in loose formations, with lasgun-carrying new recruits in the first few lines followed by the veterans with their heavier weapons. Lasguns were fired in an imperfectly synchronized staccato, shining their death-rays at the dazed Zerglings and Hydralisks while the grenade launchers, plasma guns and flamers were brought to bear against the Roaches and their thicker armor. Valkyries were landing all round them even as more Chimeras arrived to spew their load onto the battlefield. From the Valkyries came the Stormtroopers and more veteran Guardsmen. While most of the Stormtroopers were armed with the old Hellguns, some were armed with the newly distributed Hotshot Lasguns, and they were fearsome indeed. Even the Hellguns were enough to punch through Roach's thick armored carapace in few shots, and Hotshot Lasguns were better at that. The hardened veterans who supported the Stormtroopers were also quite handy, their variety of weapons that included boltguns and melta-weapons made short work of any Zerg that dared to fight back.

Amid the violence came the Thunderhawk of the Inquisitor, and it landed on the edge of the Creep field where four Guardsmen with flamers were burning away the xeno-mucus. The ramp opened with a hiss of the machine that operated the vehicle, and it slammed the ground as it revealed its cargo. From its gaping darkness inside came three men in mighty Power Armors.

Inquisitor Hadrian strode forth, his gaze locked firmly on the battle ahead.

"Captain Titus, maybe we were not really needed here at all. These xenos are not really putting up much defense of their dens." Hadrian commented as he watched the Imperial Guard forces march inexorably move toward the Zerg creatures with their lasguns blazing.

"These Zerg are cunning beasts, Inquisitor. I would not think that we should relax just yet." Titus replied, his hands gripping his own power sword tightly and following Hadrian down the ramp of the Thunderhawk.

"No matter, young Titus. We shall crush these xenos wherever they may be. Emperor willing, we may even drive these xeno scums back into the pits of hell." Matoras commented as he strode forth with his Crozius Arcanum crackling in energy.

"Let us attack then. We must take this hill and allow our artilleries to arrive in position before our armored divisions move forth." Hadrian said, noticing the four additional Chimeras quickly running up the hill toward the Thunderhawk and seeing how four of the newly arrived Valkyries landed around the Thunderhawk and deployed the Imperial troops.

Hadrian paused for a moment, then his eyes were suddenly ablaze with psychic might, and like a volcano pushing aside the clouds above, the mist all over the hill were set aside, giving the Imperials the true extent of their attack with their own eyes. Even Valkyries found it easier to move as their sensor readings were limited at best.

Even as the remaining Valkyries hovered around evading the hail of Hydralisk spines and spores from the last remaining Spore Crawler, the Imperial Guardsmen rushed toward the oncoming wave of Zerglings. This time, Zerglings were outnumbered. The Guardsmen numbered nearly four hundred, and were supported by at least four Valkyries that had taken support role once they had regurgitated their cargo. Moreover, they were led by the trio in power armor. Chaplain Matoras and his loud voice of faith had quickly ignited a fire of zeal within the hearts of the Guardsmen while the mighty and solemn presence of Captain Titus calmed their fears, and the very presence of an Inquisitor and his cadre of Inquisitorial Stormtroopers had bolstered the courage of men.

The Imperials were about to take the hill without much problem.

Titus led the charge, his left hand holding the Master-Crafted Bolter that fired rounds after rounds at the Zerglings and Hydralisks, his right hand swinging the power sword that cleaved through scores of Zerglings in his way. Behind him were Stormtroopers firing their hellguns, hotshot lasguns, bolters and flamers at the xeno creatures. Titus crushed through a dozen Zerglings, his momentum so powerful even uphill that the Zerglings in his way were turned into shredded meat. The Hydralisks that blocked his way were beaten to pulp, by either with his armored boot or the swing of his power sword. Matoras roared in glee as he swung his Crozius Arcanum down on the head of a Roach, and the mighty power weapon shattered the thick carapace of the Roach and spilt its life. Around him, the Guardsmen fired their lasguns in synchronized moves, taking down a Zergling after a Zergling after a Hydralisk after a Roach. Not far from Matoras was Titus, his power sword cut down a Zerg creature with each stroke, and then there was Hadrian, his force sword crackled with psychic energy.

Suddenly, they all paused. No, they felt like they paused because the ground rumbled too much beneath their feet.

From all around them the ground exploded upward as five massive forms of Nydus Worms appeared and roared their hearts out. Their roars, so layered thick with psionic might only two beings remained unharmed from them. Hadrian had managed to erect psychic shield around himself just in time, while Titus merely frowned at the loudness of the noise and wince at the high pitched shrill in his head. All around them, Guardsmen and Stormtroopers alike were holding their heads as massive blinding headache impacted them like an avalanche. Then, from the Nydus Worms came the Zerg unlike the ones that they were fighting until a moment ago. These new arrivals moved in distinct groups, almost as if they were fighting in their own version of 'squads'.

Something warned Titus about this. He did not ignore the feeling.

"TO ME! Guardsmen, rally to me! Stay in formations! Level your lasguns! If you would die today, let your killers pay for it with their own blood! For the Emperor!" The Ultramarine Captain roared, and the guardsmen entranced by his mighty voice gathered to him in small droves even as the Zerglings surrounded them.

Titus poured his will into his words even as the Guardsmen at the forefront of the Imperial attack was overwhelmed by Zerglings that outnumbered all the Guardsmen by the factor of two at least. Hearing the Space Marine Captain shouting, the men huddled together, remaining Sergeants and Commissars bringing them into three lines and in a rough circle.

"First line! Kneel, you dogs!" A Commissar shouted, blasting the head of a coward who sought to take advantage of the chaos to run.

The Guardsmen at the first line knelt on one knee. This was one of the formations that they had learned and practiced a thousand times, but now it felt so hard and cumbersome. It didn't help that the enemy was coming at them.

"Fire! Fire!" Someone shouted and the sound of a boltpistol firing could be heard, quickly followed by the sound of a hundred lasguns firing in synchronized pattern.

The Zerglings that came at them from all side suddenly doubled over and died as so many lasguns pierced their flesh and cooked their organs. However, there were too damn many of them.

Titus cleaved through three Zerglings before emptying his bolter into the head of a Hydralisk then kicking down its body, he cracked his knee into the face of a Roach before it could spit out its acid. As the creature stumbled back in a daze, the power sword pierced its forehead sideways before tearing its body to the side. Sensing another Zergling to his left, Titus turned his gun on that creature only realize that he had emptied its magazine moments before he depressed the trigger. His hesitation was invisible and his reaction was fast enough for his power sword to make its way back to his defense. Even as the Zergling leapt at the Space Marine's face, the power sword snapped to attention, skewering the creature.

Something had clung itself to Titus' back, and he felt the weight of a Zergling even as he tried to pull out his power sword from the Zergling he had just killed. He felt the danger. The creature had found itself half hooked to his power pack, and though precarious in position, the creature sought to slash down its claws into the top of Titus' skull. The creature did not get the chance as it was pierced by three quick volleys of powerful laser from a hotshot lasgun, wielded by an Inquisitorial Stormtrooper. Hadrian's Stormtroopers had finally arrived with the latest and the last group of reinforcements. Even as the searing heat of flames and bright barking of guns had scorched and burned their way through the waves of Zerg, the Imperial Guards were being forced back and being surrounded as their Chimera transports failed one by one, killing the crew and gunners. It was into this chaos that the Stormtroopers of the Inquisitor entered with their hotshot lasguns and melee weapons. Some had chainswords, others power sabers and some even had power fist. Moving in tight formations, Inquisitorial Stormtroopers rained down desperate deaths against the Zerg, and all the Guardsmen around them were inspired to shoot harder and faster seeing how the xeno creatures fell like wheat stalks.

Titus elbowed another Hydralisk in the head, cracking its skull before slamming it with his empty bolter, shattering the creature's head into bones and blood. Yet another Hydralisk roared and reared its claws. Titus moved back a step, but the creature had a reach, and its gleaming claws scraped across his left shoulder pauldron, making that horrible screeching sound as the metallic claw dragged across the metal armor. Titus' power sword then made a trip into the creature's chest. The creature roared in pain as Titus let go of his sword for a moment to reload his bolter.

"Scream all you wish, creature, I shall not relent."

Dakka Dakka Dakka Dakka!

Four rounds exploded upon the hard shell of a Roach even as it cut down a Guardman and tried to spit acid at another. Having bought the Guardsmen to change their target from a Zergling to the Roach that had came dangerously close, Titus turned his gun on the Hydralisks. Its skull shattered at a single volley, then the Space Marine grabbed the handle of his sword and slashed it downward.

"I shall gut your fellow Zerg like I did you, creature. Seek not to harm mankind, for I shall stop you and commit such vengeance against you that you shall falter in your steps. As Guilliman has said, so shall it be!" Titus roared as he kicked the carcass of the creature down to the ground.

Suddenly, Titus turned his head to notice something. A creature was there in the thickest of mist beyond even a Space Marine's sight in such weather phenomenon. He could sense it through his armor though he could not see it. He had remembered that a squad of Guardsmen had gone that way following several Inquisitorial Stormtroopers. They were seeking to rescue the beseiged Hellhound that lit up the surroundings. Screams were heard even as Titus turned to face the approximate location of the creature. There, in among the mist, a large creature moved about, striking down the Hellhound and the Guardsmen.

"What are you, creature? Show yourself so that I may kill you." Titus whispered as he gripped tighter on the handle of his sword while firing another volley into the back of a Zergling that was about to flank the two Guardsmen manning a Heavy Bolter.

"Craaaaa! Ssssspace Maaaarine!" The creature screamed.

"You speak." Titus whispered as he narrowed his eyes and walked forward.

~Titus, the creature speaks! Kill it! It must be a commanding creature!~ Matoras spoke into to the vox channel within his helmet.

"Agreed, Chaplain. Inquisitor, can your vaunted psychic powers clear the fog to the creature?" Titus asked even as he hacked a Roach with his power sword.

~I will try, but the creature is a strange thing. It absorbs the Warp around it. It is not even like a pariah, but something else.~

Suddenly, a gust of strong wind pushed through from Titus' right and toward the creature that was revealed as the wind had cleared up the thick fog. The creature was a Queen, and Titus knew of this information even as others did also. They knew the creature to be a sort of elite creature, and it was large and strong, but it was also slow and clumsy. It's looks indicated that it was not a warrior in any sense, but its importance was not lost on Titus.

The creature had just hacked apart a Hellhound and the Guardsmen who went in assistance to their beleagered flamer vehicle. Surrounding the creature was a dozen Hydralisks in semi-loose formation dotted with a couple of Zerglings and as many Roaches. Titus knew he could kill the Queen, but not before its bodyguards hacked him to pieces. He needed allies. His armor told him how Matoras was amidst a swarm of Zerglings in a desperate fight alongside a handful of Guardsmen, so he was not available. Hadrian was doing something of his own, leading several squads of surviving Guardsmen into formation against a fresh wave of Zerglings. Then he saw the Inquisitorial Stormtroopers pushing back a squad of Zerglings.

"Stormtroopers! To me! We go kill the leader of these foul xenos. Leave the little ones to the Guardsmen. To me!" Titus roared as he rushed past them.

Inquisitorial Stormtroopers were all veterans of several campaigns and more. As soon as Titus spoke to them, they abandoned the Zerglings and rushed to the aid of the Space Marine Captain, following the super-human's wide footsteps. Some had to remain in combat, however, and Titus felt that only a dozen or a couple more were behind him. Titus brushed past a large pipes enough to give cover, and then jumped over the ruined carcass of a destroyed Chimera. He pointed his sword at the Queen.

"There! Kill the creature!"

The Queen's bodyguards moved toward Titus instantly. Titus jumped down from the vehicle just as spines flew over his head. Then the las-beams rained upon the creatures. All fourteen Inquisitorial Stormtroopers fired their ranged weapons against the Queen's guards. Zerglings were quickly slaughtered, but the Roaches charged on, trusting their thick carapace shell.

"Go, captain! We will handle them! Hurrah!" The Stormtrooper Sergeant shouted, his chainsword blocking the Roach's wing-blade.

Titus nodded in acknowlegement. He broke into a run, and then shoulder-charged a Hydralisk that stumbled back before the power sword cut off its head. Titus felt Hydralisk spines bouncing off his Artificier Armor on loan from the Inquisitor's considerable personal armory. The beautifully carved gold-plated statue of Rogal Dorn to his right shoulder paulder was left with serious scuff marks that left a single spine stuck in Dorn's belly.

The bolter fired, and it struck the Hydralisk true, and as it fell, the Queen moved. They were upon Creep, and it could move faster than any previous occasion that the Guardsmen had witnessed a Queen. The Queen reared and roared. Its tiny arms with two tiny fingers looked more like the short stubby and useless arms of a tyrannosaurus rex than human arms. They were not as useless, however. They glowed in crackling psionic energy with purple aura forming a nimbus around the hands. Her wing-claws vibrated and shuddered as they almost instantly mutated to grow extra claws like that of a Hydralisk's claws. Three curved claw-blades extended themselves from the boney ends of the Queen's fleshless wings and they too were imbued with purple glow, though they were far more refined and sharp-looking that the two stubby hands.

The Queen spat out half dozen spines, each coated with thick green acid. Titus saw the creature rear up to fire the boney ammunition, and he had rolled forward, letting the spines zoom past him, but the Queen was a cleverer creature than he had given it credit. The two stubby hands gathered together in that moment and sent a powerful blast of psionic energy into a telekinetic burst.

Blam!

Titus felt intense impact upon his chest. His Master-crafted Artificier Armor protected him, but through the Black Carapace, Titus knew that the attack was far more dangerous than it appeared. Of the six nodes of polarization matrix embeded within the chest piece of the Artificier Armor in a carefully arranged hexagrammic pattern to include lines of Blessings of Machine God etched in gold, two had been destroyed by the attack. Titus knew that one of the major advantages of an Artificier Armor was the inclusion of multiple polarization matrix nodes to amplified the basic metal polarization matrix that enhanced the strength of the Power Armor's defenses. Given enough energy and maintained properly, even the basic polarization matrix could add a not-insignicant degree of fortitude to the ceramite plating of the armor, allowing the Space Marine to charge through a hail of bullet to reach his target without the armor being comprimized. He remembered well the first true Power Armor he was given when he was but a young Ultramarine. The brand-new Mark 7 Aquilla Armor was newly forged for the batch of newly ordained Ultramarines. Titus remembered that occasion as he and eight other were given their first Power Armor, all shiny and new. He wore it with pride, and he felt as each nerve points on his Black Carapace connect to the armor's Machine Spirit. Like all new things in the Imperium, the new was never really good. The armor had the basics right. It had decent power storage and output, while the single polarization matrix generator on his back connected right to the backpack had provided protection for most of his armor, though one extra node was embedded in each of his shoulder pauldrons and another under his groin. This made his shoulder pauldrons markedly stronger than the rest of his armor, and many young Space Marines used that to advantage. It was easy to use the oversized pauldron to protect one's face, given the relative weakness of a helmet.

Over the years, as his fame and reputation rose in tandem with his experiences and rank, his armor evolved too. After his heroic deeds on Dolmus V where Titus' Lascannon managed to pierce the Ork Warboss' head in a single but devastating shot, his damaged armor was given extra care by the Chapter's Techmarines. Then as his role changed into that of an Assault Marine, his armor was in need of repair far more often than he'd liked, but each time it returned to him, the armor was improved. As a Sergeant of the Assault Marine squad in the Second Company, he had slain a Dark Eldar Haemonculus who had sought to capture a drifting Space Marine Strike Cruiser of a forgotten and lost Loyalist Chapter where nearly a dozen Space Marines slept in stasis. In that epic battle, Titus had earned his place as a Tactical Marine as well as the position of the Sergeant of that squad. After the heavily damaged Power Armor was taken from him, Titus received another. It was a Master-Crafted Power Armor, and though not an Artificier Armor, it maintained five additional polarization matrix nodes, two in the thighs and two in the pauldrons and one in the chest. It was a significant boost of his armor, and he had enjoyed its powers until he rose to the captaincy of the Second Company. Even then, the sheer number of polarization matrix nodes that his current Master-Crafted Artificier Armor possessed had dwarfed the armor of Ultramarine's famed Master of the Watch. This armor, given to him by the Inquisitor, had six carefully placed nodes in the chest alone, while three supported the armor below the belt, and two each in the shoulder pauldron. Powered by equally magificent backpack that easily doubled the power output of his former Power Armor, the Artificier Armor had proven a great boon against the xenos.

Yet, now it appeared, that the Zerg Queen was far more powerful than he had anticipated. With a single psionic attack, it had left a large dent in the exterior of Titus' armor, and had damaged two nodes, significantly weakening his armor's ceramite plates, though it was still far superior than an average Power Armor. Titus had no time to ponder these, however, as the Queen pressed its attack. Even as Titus took two steps back from the impact of the initial attack, the Queen leapt forward and made a swipe of its right claw-wing at Titus, who barely managed to evade the deadly attack by taking another faltering step backward. As an experience Captain of Space Marines, he saw the glowing blades upon the claws and considered them perhaps as 'power weapons' as it was not unusual to fight enemies armed with such weapons or even worse with strange xeno-tech weapons. Instantly, the Space Marine Captain retaliated. He fired off his bolter into the face of the enemy, only to find that his bolter had mere ten rounds left in its magazine and that his enemy was shielded. The plasma shield of the Zerg Queen flared in bright purple, almost pink in hue. The other claw-wing cut diagonally, and this time, Titus blocked the attack with his power sword, and the disruptive energy field of his Master-Crafted Power Sword and the deadly Psi Blade of the Zerg Queen clashed in a brilliant flash of light and spark. The two blades did not even meet each other. They floated against each other, leaving mere millimeters from the other, while their energy field collided against each other in terrible battle for dominance.

It was in that moment Titus had realized his dire predicament. His bolter was empty, his sword locked in a duel of strength that cannot be given up, and the enemy still had that 'psychic' attack and a spare claw. He saw as the creature pulled back the other claw like a gun cocking back to deliver its deadly munition. The claw came for Titus' head, and it moved fast. Titus did not even blink as it moved, but it seemed that the Emperor was on his side. A single blast of melta fire cascaded over the Queen just as it attempted to pierce the Space Marine's head. The Queen missed, and its claw pierced the top layers of Titus' left shoulder pauldron. Titus felt one of the matrix nodes crack from the strain, but the other held. The Queen found the primary left claw stuck in the Power Armor's thick shoulder pauldron. The melta fire, however, did not come unintentioned. An Inquisitorial Stormtrooper had came upon the Queen and he fired upon the creature with his melta pistol. Then he proceeded to strike at the creature with his chainsword, letting the diamantine teeth of the whirring blade grind against the flaring shield. The Queen was outraged, and it lifted its right claw, freeing Titus' power sword. Even as the creature slashed down upon the lone trooper, Titus swung down hard on the join of the creature's left claw-wing. Just as the right claw punched through the carapace helmet of the Stormtrooper and drilled into his chest via his neck, Titus cut off the left claw-wing. The creature had no sense of priority despite its capability to sense a more formidable foe and its natural instinct to fight well with what it had as weapons. The Queen screamed in pain as its left wing was torn at the first joint where the plasma shield could not handle the disruptive power of a Master-Crafted Power Sword.

The creature backed away seeking a relief from the assaults, but Titus was not going to give it such ease. Even with the creature's claw still stuck in his pauldron, Titus launched himself forward, slashing at the creature's torso. The Zerg Queen screamed as the shield flared dangerously. It sought to relieve danger by attacking the offending Space Marine, whose daft reflexes blocked the flurry of claws. Again and again, Titus stuck the creature, forcing it back against a half-crumbled wall of a formerly human structure. The creature's shield's flickered as Titus' attacks drained it to dangerous levels. However, the creature was not without tricks up its sleeve. It opened is maw, and from it poured out psionic flames that seared through the thickness of the power armor. The armor's defenses, from the polarized plating to the inner layers of plasteel and more ceramites, glowed in heat, and Titus felt the heat. It was in that moment that Matoras appeared out from the thickness of the hill's fog. Like a lion leaping at its prey, the Chaplain pounced the creature from its side. His Crozius crackled more dangerously than ever as it punched through the last remaining vestige of the creature's shield and burrowed itself into the green-colored belly of the creature. Then he swiped the weapon to the side, tearing a massive gash across its body. The creature screamed, and the flames stopped, and Titus lunged to use this chance. A single sideswipe of a graceful arc sliced through the front part of the creature's head, felling its face and the front part of its brain.

The impact of the creature's death was as immediate as it was great. A great uproar was heard as the Zerg creatures screamed as if they were in pain. Then they lost all coherency as squads. Groups of Zerglings that had assailed the ranks of Imperial Guardsmen in tight packs were suddenly scattered and attacked Guardsmen at random, giving no thought to teamwork or that they had become separated from others. Hydralisks milled around as if they could not decide which target to fire upon, while the Roaches suddenly found each other's company hostile and they paired off in a gruelling dueling matches. The Imperials did not miss a beat. They fired and fired and fired upon the enemy. Lasguns, Hotshot Lasguns, bolters, flamers and myriads of Imperial weapons slammed into the entire mobs of Zerglings and other creatures. Even without coordinated effort for battle, the Zerg outnumbered the humans by far. The five Nydus Wurms still poured out scores of Zerg creatures from their mouths.

* * *

><p>~Inquisitor Hadrian. We are here.~<p>

Someone suddenly spoke to Hadrian as he stomped the head of a Zergling into mush.

"Who is this?"

~We are the Crimson Knights, Inquisitor. We have arrived as you have requested. Our debt to you is again lessened by a degree, for we are forever grateful for your actions. By the order of our Chapter Master Jonatan Filipe Gaius Adamus Armstrong the Nineteenth, we of the Crimson Knights have come.~

Hadrian smiled.

"Then come, brave knights among the stars. Come to purge these xenos of their lives."

Explosions rocked the ground around the Hatchery as a Thunderhawk flew over it and fired upon the Zerg structure. Then Drop Pods came. Four Drop Pods slammed into the areas where the fighting was the heaviest. They landed right behind the enemy line, each Pod crushing several Zerglings and/or a Hydralisk. Then as their doors opened, five Space Marines appeared, each laden with dazzling array of ornaments and displays of their feat. On their backpacks, these Space Marines carried a personal banner whose simple heraldry defaced with another flag in their canton (upper hoist quarter). Each of the combat-squads had two Space Marines armed with a standard bolter and an elongated combat knife on the back of their belt. These had relatively less insignias and ornaments, while three members of each combat-squad were armed with a melee weapon and a pistol as well as the same elongated combat knife. These close-combat warriors were significantly more weighed down with dozens of Purity Seals, badges and other marks of honor. Arriving in combat, the Space Marines waded into the enemy, hacking them down with ferocity true of any real Space Marine.

Then two more Drop Pods came down, and they landed a little further into the enemy's zone, and close to each other too. After crushing several Roaches and Hydralisks and Zerglings, the Drop Pods revealed their powerful contents. From each Pod came five Space Marine Veterans clad in their mighty Terminator Armors. Each Terminator seemed strangely odd for Terminators, for each of them was armed with a melee weapon on their right hand while their left hand was clad in Power Fist with a built-on bolter. Like their lesser armored brothers, these Terminators carried their personal heraldry, though their flags were often party per cross, mixing four flags. They were also dotted with numerous emblems and badges, with gaudy decorations of intricate carvings filled with gold or silver, gem-socketted pendants also hanging from various chains of gold-plated plasteel. These Crimson Knights seemed to trully enjoy showing off.

However, their combat strength was nothing less than examplary. Like men possessed, the squad of ten Terminators and twenty Space Marines were enough to turn the tide of the battle. It was more so as the Basilisks now parked at the base of the hill began to shell the Nydus Wurms as per the Inquisitor's orders and coordinates he gave. Finally, even as the first minute passed by, one more Drop Pod arrived, and this one arrived near the Inqusitor. From it came a Librarian in Terminator Armor escorted by two Vanguard Veterans, two Sternguard Veterans and a Standard Bearer, as per traditions of their Chapter.

"Inqusitor, it is agreeable to see you again, and to assist you in this great work is payment enough for our efforts." The Librarian spoke as Hadrian's Stormtroopers wiped out the last of Zerglings in the immediate vicinity.

Hadrian smiled at the approaching Librarian clad in a beautifully decorated Terminator Armor covered in gold and silver and gemstones.

"Epistolary Kolonnes, it surprises me that your Chapter Master would spare a mighty hero of your Chapter such as yourself. With you here, I shall need to worry less about our casualties, for victory is now assured." The Inquisitor answered with a compliment.

"It is but a small token of thanks from our Chapter Master. Your deeds still echoes in the ruins of our Fortress Monastery."

"How is your reconstruction going? Even after two decades, a vigilant Chapter such as yours would have had very little time to pour great efforts in rebuilding, and I had overheard of Dark Eldar raids in recent years." Hadrian asked with genuine concern.

"Though my brothers continue the work of the Emperor, our new battalions of Chapter Serfs have managed to replace all but one tenth of our great home. The Hall of Five Hundred is still in half ruin and we still find corpses of the casualities from the attack, and the Bright Spire has yet to be touched." The Librarian explained, his words finding recognition in the Inquisitor's memories.

"The Hall of Five Hundred... was it not the Hall of Three Hundred last time I've visited?" He asked.

"The demise of our sixth and seventh Companies was felt deep, and their memories were engraved upon our hearts, Inquisitor. Though I would still attribute our salvation to your relentless pursuit of the traitorous and guileful sorcerer." The Librarian growled.

"Thank you for your memory, now shall we continue our extermination of the xeno forces?" Hadrian turned, but he only saw the Imperial forces pushing back the Zerg. "Well, my martial prowess is no longer needed then."

A thunderous chorus of terrible ammunition being fired from the mighty barrels of a bolter made the air quake. Thick boots of a Terminator Armor dug deeper into the dusty ground as the naked recoil of the weapon reverberated through the whole armor. The bright ruby red of Crimson Knights Chapter seemed bleak as the flashlights revealed the scarred visage of their armors, but the Space Marines wore their battle marks with honor. Then into that field of fire came the Zerg. Roaches marched against the Terminators in their scores, not caring that a 10-men squad of Terminators aided by two full squads of Tactical Marines would easily tear them to pieces. Yet, the Zerg did not relent. Right behind the Roaches followed waves of Zerglings, easily a hundred strong, and they had avoided being slaughtered as their thicker armored fellow Zerg had taken the bullet for them. Even as the last of the Roaches finally died with their hard carapace cracked open and their internal organs plastered within their shell.

Though the Zerg remained numerically superior by far, they had lost coherency and any semblance of tactics. Indeed, the creatures were now feral and vicious, and it was their ferocity alone that drove them against the Imperials. They were by no means without control. They did not attack each other, for the small fleet of Overlords had arrived among the thick clouds above, but without the Queen to guide them, the Zerg ran amok. Entire mobs of Zerglings twitched this way and that, reacting to every attack against their number. The Imperials were quick to seize their enemy's disadvantage. The Imperials corralled the Zerglings with devastating ranged attacks, and when the horde approached the offending Imperials, another group of Imperial forces would fire upon the Zerglings from a distance. The Zerglings would turn to face their new attacker, seemingly forgetting their original query. Such tag-match quickly drained the number of Zerglings roving in groups, but then again, there were simply too many Zerglings not to mention other more dangerous creatures.

The Crimson Knight Space Marines were enjoying their battle. The combination of bolter-wielding Tactical Marines and melee-ready Tactical Marines was a deadly thing. It was through the seniority and prestige of each warrior that decided who will wield their Chapter's mighty melee weapons and who would take up the menial task of firing their bolters. The Sergeant, or the Knight Bannerette as their Chapter calls them, waded into a rank of two dozen Zerglings and made short work of them with his Power Weapon in the form of a short glaive. It was basically a massive thick blade at the end of a short handle as long as a Power Axe's handle and it was a beautiful killing machine indeed. With each swipe, the sergeant cleaved through two or three Zerglings, and he was good at it. Behind him followed four of his Knight-Brothers, two were hacking at the xeno creatures with their melee weapons while the two younger ones fired their bolter in a perfectly synchronized dance of melee and ranged combat.

The battle seemed almost over. The Imperials were finally pushing, and the Zerg lines began to fall back. Spine Crawlers were pulled down or set aflame while other Zerg structures faced similar fate. Only the Hatchery and few others set upon near the mine's entrance remained. The Hatchery itself had means of self-defense. Apart from the three Spine Crawlers it had grafted on to itself, it featured three Spore Crawlers, still firing at the nimble Thunderhawks and occasional Valkyries. Then there were five Hydralisks permanently grafted on to short but flexible tentacles and hidden inside pores on the side of the Hatchery. The Swarm had evolved much in the intervening years, and they had evolved to defend themselves in this hostile galaxy. These Hydracles, as the Swarm recognized them so, had lost their claws or most of their individual features, but they had gained superior ranged attack. Fed by the Khaydarin Crystal in the bowels of the Zerg Hatchery, they fired their spines further and encased in Psi Blade-like energy field, capable of piercing thick armors. They also fired their munitions at incredible rate and a couple of dozen Guardsmen saw their ends from the barrage of powerful spines punching through their crude Flak Armor.

Even as the second of the five Nydus Wurms finally succumbed to the relentless Basilisk barrages, leaving only the three on the far side of the battle on the other side of the Hatchery, the Imperial Guard began to push harder and deeper into the Zerg. Fresh Chimeras and Hellhounds arrived to lay waste to the xeno forces. With their victory in firm grasp, the Space Marines and the Inquisitor found themselves relieved from combat as the inspired charge of Guardsmen easily surpassed the zeal of the Space Marines who kept an eye out for any deviancy in battle. After all, they were Space Marines and were far more careful and watchful of the battle.

The Librarian of the Crimson Knights who had stepped aside to speak to his brothers strode back toward Hadrian where both the Chaplain Matoras and Captain Titus had joined the Inquisitor in counsel.

"The creature must have been powerful to corner you so, Captain Titus." Hadrian said as he ran his finger over the protruding claw of the Queen still stuck in Titus' left pauldron.

"The creature itself was a slow and clumsy opponent, but its weapons were formidable. To think a biological technology of these creatures are capable of not only blocking a power sword but to cover its body with shield and to pierce this armor was concerning to say the least." Titus replied, with his honest opinion of the enemy's abilities.

"It had weaknesses, Titus. It was neither invulnerable nor was it tough. Yet, I think the creature was not an inherently offensive creature." Matoras commented.

"How so, Chaplain?" Hadrian asked in surprise.

"It was not like other creatures that have slaughtered. They were designed to be agile and tough, and strong in both their physiology and their aggression. This creature, the Queen as you called it, was neither. Given its weapons, it should be a powerful creature, but it was clearly assigned to and developed for another purpose." The Chaplain answered.

"What makes you say that?"

"Did you not notice how the lesser creatures became greatly agitated and confused as if they were without purpose? Did you not see how they almost turned upon each other, held back by the barest recognition of their own kin? I believe that these command creatures maintains control over different broods and clans of lesser creatures through physical or psychic control. Perhaps not unlike an Ork Warboss. Like these creatures, they consist of millions of individuals, but under the command of a Warboss, they fight in a terrible horde with enough organization and tactics to cripple entire systems." The Chaplain explained as he pointed his Crozius at the dead Zerg bodies now all but disppeared except for their hollowed-out skeletons.

Both Hadrian and the Librarian Kolonnes nodded in agreement.

"I felt a tremor in the Warp as the creature died, and it does make sense if the creature maintained control over the lesser creatures with psychic network." The Inquisitor answered.

"I agree. Even from the distance I could feel a ripple in the Warp, despite the inherent difficulty in detecting these creatures." The Librarian added, and that drew the Inquisitor's attention.

"You had felt the difficulty as well, Librarian? I had thought it was just my mistake of entering a planet where the xenos had a significant psychic presence, which would have blanketed the area with enough dampening effect."

"Nay, Inquisitor. Even from our Strike Cruiser, I attended my mind to seek out weaknesses of our enemy, and even all my training and assistance of my fellow Librarians and Sanctioned Psykers of our Chapter Militia, I could feel but a distance shadows in each and every one of these creatures. They are almost invisible in the Warp, and though we can detect them, it is with great difficulty." The Librarian answered.

"Then we shall need to know more about these creatures. Even as we battle, we are gathering more and more knowledge of our enemy, and with that knowledge our extermination of these foul xeno monstrosities shall be refined and defined far beyond what we are capable now." Titus declared.

He held out the sliced piece of the Queen's head, where the remaining brain still pulsed with life, though it was fading fast.

"You seek to use your Omophagea, despite the possibility of contamination?" The Red Knight Librarian seemed aghast at such method to be considered by an Ultramarine Captain.

Titus cracked a smile.

"Last time, we were in deperate need of information, and we had no access to Librarians within the depth of the dungeon that we walked. Given the danger of attempting such things, and given how we have two psykers here, I was hoping you would take a chance at it before we resort to such methods." The Captain held out the head.

"Its brain is still living." Kolonnes commented as he received the piece of the head. "As long as it is alive, it should not be too much of a problem. Inquisitor, if you would mind..."

"I shall guard your soul to the best of my abilities, Librarian. Given the stifling psychic blanket cast by the swarm of these xeno creatures, it would be difficult for a daemon to invade you let alone come even close to this world." Hadrian agreed to protecting the Librarian's mind and soul against possible intrusion by the Great Enemy. Just in case.

As the wisened and experienced Epistolary of the Crimson Knights Chapter beheld the still pulsating brain tissues of the Zerg Queen and the Inquisitor behind him in equally silent meditation, both Titus and Matoras turned to the battle ahead.

The thick night fog that had concealed the hilltop was all but gone, and revealed the Creep-covered structures and facilities of human construction long subsumed by the xeno's foulness. The gentle-sloped ramp that the Imperial Guards and Titus had been climbing and fighting was almost entirely void of structures or covers, but the enemy's hold, where the giant Hatchery was under seige from the Imperial forces, had formerly human structures now manned by Hydralisks who fired upon the Space Marines and Imperial Guards alike.

"This battle is over." Matoras muttered as he saw the Crimson Knights' Terminators finally moving toward the Hatchery.

"No, it's not." Kolonnes disagreed before throwing up upon the ashen remains of the Queen's forebrain. "They are sending something, and whatever it is... It's big."

The Inquisitor and the Space Marines had mere moments to turn their heads to the last remaining Nydus Wurm before its maw spread and opened into an impossibly large hole.

* * *

><p>END OF CHAPTER 47<p> 


	48. Chapter 48

Alrighty! I've written this chapter far quicker than I had expected, and it is far longer too. Word count at around 12,000 words compared to previous chapter's 9,000.

Before you start, however, there are a couple of things I would like to mention.

1. Why is the Titus/Imperial POV dragging on so long?

A: It is very important because it sets up the future confrontation between the Zerg and the Imperium, and it lays out an important subplot.

2. Why are the Zerg being stomped on by the Imperials? I thought Zerg would crush through all opposition!

A: Although I would love to write something so simple, that would make this a short and ultimately unsatisfying story. Please, be patient, because the Zerg will triumph.

3. I've sent you new Zerg unit ideas, why don't I see them?

A: I've looked through such units and have selected a few here and there, and they will appear at appropriate time.

4. Ultralisks seem too small.

A: I know some of you talk about this because of the opening cinematic of the Heart of the Swarm. I just want to remind you that there are schemes and plans afoot, and being biological, any Ultralisk can be created to be so massive... if needs arise.

Finally, current story arc will end soon, and we will get back to the Overmind's POV and the stomping of the galaxy. We will have a story arc that may looks a little like an omnibus of shorter stories about the heroics of defenders and the deviancy in Zerg behaviors and stuff. Then we will move on to main story... about the clash with the Chaos Forces and the Daemons, and the arrival of the Tyranids.

ENJOY!

PS: There are pieces you may mistake for plot holes or something I've forgotten... Those pieces are there on purpose...

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><p><strong>Chapter 48<strong>

The maw gaped, and the Space Marines did not hesitate before giving orders.

"Guardsmen, pull back and form firing lines. You cannot handle this up close. Back away! Back away!" Titus roared as he powered up his sword and reloaded his bolter.

"By the Emperor and the graces of Primarchs, we shall conquer whatever horrors these xenos come up with, brothers." Matoras declared as he powered up his Crozius and drew his Plasma Pistol, which he did not often use.

Inquisitor Hadrian also took steps.

"Lieutenant Ovris, bring what remains of your Stormtroopers to assist us. Whatever comes through it must be stopped before it can do anything!" He spoke into his vox, and he received quick confirmation.

"Brother-Sergeant de Arignon, attend! Watch for what comes out of that hole!" The Librarian spoke to the Sergeant of the Terminator squad. "Squad de Scoteaux, Squad de Reyer, attend to the flank of Veteran Squad de Arignon! We shall let nothing pass."

The Crimson Knights quickly fanned out taking appropriate positions and covers just as the Nydus Wurm began its birthing contractions.

"It's coming..." Kolonnes growled before raising his strange Force Axe and Stormbolter in preparation for battle himself.

The Librarian was aided by the two Vanguard and two Sternguard Veterans of his Chapter, each a mighty Champion worth of their personal banners, but none of them were as revered as the ancient and mighty Standard Bearer, one of the mightest warriors of the Chapter. It was the tradition of the Crimson Knights to field their greatest hero with a disadvantage of carrying the heavy and cumbersome Chapter or Company Standard, for their reason was that only such warrior could fight effectively while carrying their holy standard. Indeed, this Standard Bearer was no different than any such heroes of the Crimson Knights. The Silent One rose from his one-kneed prayer to his beloved flag, and drew from his back a truly magnificent Power Sword so lovingly and perfectly forged that its unpowered state would still cut down an Astartes in full armor.

Hadrian knew this particularly silent warrior, and since they were about to enter into battle, he shared all he knew of these fellow warriors to Matoras and Titus in a telepathic link with them. It took some more effort with Titus, but it got through to him.

Titus quickly processed the information as they flooded his mind. The Nydus Wurm already drooled out scores of particularly nasty-looking Zerglings covered in thick mucus as if to smooth the opening for the main player. Basilisk shells and Valkyries sought to take down the Wurm, but it had a large spherical shield around it to protect itself.

Within Titus' mind, information and his vision clicked together. He now knew that the squad of Terminators was under the command of Veteran Brother-Sergeant Ser Henri de Arignon the Marquis of Ceaux, and they, like the rest of Crimson Knights, preferred melee combat and shunned ranged fights as they rose in rank. Thus, they were armed with their personally chosen melee weapons and a Power Fist installed with a bolter. Although a couple of them did carry heavy ranged weapons, Titus momentarily worried about the weakness in ranged combat. Then there were two Tactical Marine Squads, under Brother-Sergeants Ser Herve de Reyer the Vicomte of Rolis and Ser Basile de Scoteaux the Vicomte of Readux. They too preferred melee combat, though the younger ones did carry proper Astartes equipments.

The Ultramarine Chaptain shook away the extra thoughts. He did not need everything. He only needed know how best to use the situation.

Then everything seemed to stop. It was but a moment since the Libraran vomited out the information, but the enemy had come.

* * *

><p>The maw of the Nydus Wurm expanded impossibly, and came out terrible creatures of immense size and power. In incredibly speedy fashion, the Wurm spewed out four Ultralisks their massive steps causing the ground to shudder, and they were followed by half dozen Hunters, each of them dangerously charged with malice and psionic power. If it was so easy, the Zerg would have been driven off the planet long ago. At last, the huge form of a Hybrid Reaver appeared, its entire body crackling with incredible psionic energy and physical prowess.<p>

These big creatures were followed by what seemed like endless number of Zerglings, Roaches and Hydralisks. Once again, the Imperial forces were outnumbered. There were at least a thousand Zerglings quickly pooling around the big creatures. More over, they looked organized and their eyes gleamed with dangerous intellect. Little did the Imperials know that the Hybrid Reaver was the conduit for the immense psionic control of Volran, whose ghostly avatar alone was enough for this.

Yet, the Zerg did not attack immediately, for they were no longer feral creatures. They were under control. The Reaver growled as it stepped forward.

"**Grrrr... Ssspace Mmmarinesss... Leave... and we will not follow..."** The creature stammered an ultimatum.

Though all of them were rather surprised, the Inquisitor quickly took charge.

"This is an Imperial World and it belongs to the Emperor. You are foul xeno who dares to seek war against the Imperium. We shall destroy you, and scatter your ashes across the void." The Inquisitor answered defiantly.

"**Pity... You could have... lived a little... longer...**" The Reaver chuckled darkly.

"Here they come!" Matoras shouted as the Zerg suddenly sprinted toward the Imperials.

"Captain Titus! Kill that leader! You have seen how the Queen-creature caused massive upheaval in their command structure! Kill that creature!" Hadrian shouted into the vox, and Titus nodded.

Titus turned to Matoras and Kolonnes.

"I would not miss this fight, young Titus." The Chaplain warned.

"I shall aid you in this as well, Captain. We shall show what tough stuff we sons of Guilliman are made of." The Librarian added.

Titus nodded as he ran toward the giant creature that easily overwhelmed a Dreadnought in height alone. The Librarian spoke into his vox as he, his escorts and the Chaplain followed the Ultramarine Captain.

"Brother de Arignon! Attend! Make a path!"

-Affirmative! Purge all these filths, brothers!- The Terminator Sergeant replied. -To Death and Glory! Our end shall be such an END! Charge!-

Veteran Brother Solvig de Vilois the Comte of Vordlac smiled wide behind his thick Terminator helmet. His breathing quickened as he saw the massive tusked creature charging toward him. It was a big creature, and if he could believe what the mission report indicated, it was called an Ultralisk. It was about as tall as a Dreadnought and perhaps as long as a Predator tank, and though its tusks seemed powerful, the Space Marine trusted in his faith to the God Emperor.

The Ultralisk had tackled a helpless Chimera that could not move out of the way in time. The tusk sheared off the offending Multi-laser before crushing a fleeing Guardsmen under its thick front foot. Solvig saw its burning orange eyes filled with madness and violence.

"Come then, beast! I am waiting!" He roared as he fired his bolter beneath his Power Fist.

The Ultralisk roared as its face was splatted with bolter rounds that exploded upon its thick carapace. From around and beneath the creature's feet came a dozen Zerglings led by slightly larger Zergling with longer claws and extra pair of wings. The little creatures were fast and they came upon the Terminator quickly. Ignoring the few lasgun shots from the Guardsmen behind him who sought to aid their Angel of Death, Solvig punched the leader Zergling just as it leapt at the Terminator armored Space Marine. The little creature shattered into bloody pulp, but it gave other Zerglings to come upon him.

Yet, a Space Marine was not as slow as one might think even within the heavy and cumbersome Terminator armor. The large blade of his custom-made Power Axe swiped through the air horizontally, cleaving through three Zerglings before the blade on the other side of that axe took charge and cleaved through another four. Both blades of his Power Axe wet with xeno blood, Solvig moved forward and it was enough to crush a Zergling knocked down in their mad scramble to get to the Space Marine. The bolter fired, and shattered two Zerglings before the Power Fist came down hard upon yet another Zergling. One Zergling remained, and it got a small break as it managed to get its claws on the thigh of the Space Marine, though the claw was not quite enough to punch through the thick armor.

A Hydralisk exploded out from the ground in a leaping fashion, its claws stretched outward, and Solvig, while eyeing the Ultralisk tearing the Chimera apart piece by piece, knocked the elongated creature aside before stepping on its skull. Then Solvig was upon the Ultralisk just as it was upon him.

The Ultralisk swung its right Kaiser Blade outward seeking to knock back the approaching Terminator. Solvig was not about to let such creature to knock him about. The Power Fist blocked and grabbed the thick serrated edge of the Kaiser Blade's back. Solvig's armor groaned as the incredible strength of the Ultralisk forced the mighty Terminator armor to be pushed by a foot or two, however, the Space Marine held on and squeezed, slowly cracking through the boney blade.

Enraged by an enemy that could dare stand against it, the Ultralisk sought to skewer Solvig's face with its left Kaiser Blade. The sharp end of the blade rubbed across the air but the Space Marine struck back with his Power Axe just in time. With a terrible crackling sound, a large shard of the Ultralisk's left Kaiser Blade broke apart while Solvig's machine-assisted arm shook violently from the impact. The auto-sensor of his mighty and ancient armor gave him grave warning about the dangerous levels of energy that his weapons were consuming just to match the ferocity his enemies.

The Ultralisk shook its head, freeing its damaged Kaiser Blades, but Solvig was not about to let the creature back down so easily. Sprinting at a speed that should have been impossible for a man clad in such armor, the Space Marine pushed forward and struck the creature's chest with his Power Axe and delved a deep critical wound into its flesh well past its metalic carapace. Yet, the Zerg creature was not without its own counterstrike. Its lower set of Kaiser Blades, designed to protect the creature from such close combat moved into action, and its crackling psionic energy sliced through several layers of Solvig's right pauldron, and left a deep gash across his left lateral abdomen. Solvig groaned as the xeno's boney blade cracked his lowest left rib while slicing through the external abdominal oblique enough to cause him great pain. Although the Larraman's Organ quickly stymied the blood loss, the veteran warrior quickly understood the gravity of his wound.

He felt the slackening of his left arm, but he knew the wound did not effect the serratus anterior or the latissimus dorsi enough to truly weaken him. His muscles were thick and his spirit stronger, and even wounded, he swung his Power Fist into the joint of the lower right Kaiser Blade, and the mighty crackling energy seared through the flesh and bone, and shattered that joint. The creature screamed, but this time, it tried to bite Solvig with its large teeth, but the Space Marine was born and fought and bled a lot longer than this fresh creature. Instead of backing down, the Terminator slammed his Power Axe into the creature's maw and swiped it sideways, tearing a large chunk of its face into bloody pulp before driving a vicious uppercut with his Power Fist.

The jaw of the Ultralisk exploded as the large creature stumbled. Were it any other race, it would have died or incapacitated. Not even the Orks, whose resilience in battle were almost as legendary as that of the deathless Necrons, would have faltered at such wounds. Yet, the Space Marine was not fighting an Ork. The Ultralisks suddenly charged, its hind legs giving it an impressive momentum. The Terminator's feet dragged through the withering Creep and ground beneath it, but the sheer mass and strength of the Ultralisk was not to be underestimated, and then there were lesser creatures.

A Zerglings and a Roach had approached the Terminator even as the momentum of the Ultralisk was finally halted. They had no concept of honor and not utilizing this moment of enemy's weakness would have been unthinkable to these simple creatures. Like bees to honey, the Zergling rammed into Solvig's right calf, headbutting into the back of his knee, almost making the Terminator stumble. It was that moment which the Ultralisk exploited by slamming down what was left of its head upon the Space Marine even as the Roach sought to swing its axe-like claws at the Terminator's right side. Solvig had to make a choice. He poured all his energy into his weapons, and he regripped his axe backward. Spinning on the spot he ignored the intense pain upon his wounded muscle that flared up as his core muscles twisted, and punched the Roach in its face with his Power Fist. The creature imploded as its innards were torn to shred within moments, but the Space Marine did not pause there. Pulling out his fist, he lifted his right hand up, letting the blade of his Power Axe meet the falling head of the Ultralisk.

The head was cleaved in two.

The large creature finally fell.

There was no time for victory. Almost instantly, the presence of the Ultralisk was replaced by a half dozen Hydralisks and scores of Zerglings and Roaches, finally given an approach to the lone Terminator. Fortunately, a Space Marine such as Solvig would rarely be left alone without support. Battle Brother Calion de Beaulac of Squad de Reyer came to the support of his brother-in-arms. Clad in crimson-painted armor of his chapter, the relatively young Space Marine rained down a full automated volley of bolter rounds into the crowd of Zerg about to Swarm the Terminator. Though much junior than Solvig's four centuries of service, the Calion had been a full Space Marine for well over a century and he was quite skilled in his weapons. Firing his bolter with left hand, Calion severed a Hydralisk in half with his Chainsword, a relic of almost two thousand years that was once used by Captain Guy de Beaulac of the 4th Company at the time whose gene-seeds eventuated into Calion's implants.

The beautifully decorated Chainsword chewed through carapace and flesh then ground apart its bones. As his melee weapon cleaved its way through his enemy, Calion could not help recant the great heroics committed by the legendary Captain whose deeds have resounded through the Chapel of the Dead, a holy reliquery of the Chapter. Just like Calion had done so, Captain Guy de Beaulac would have started as mere recruit, inducted into a gruelling series of training until his body was ready for the holy implants, each and every piece descended from the ancient and mighty heritage of the Primarch Guilliman. Although it was no secret that each set of implants were designated randomly, once the first implant, the Secondary Heart, was set within a recruit, that boy would forever belong in one of the Houses.

Calion remembered the paintings of deeds of his forefathers even as he mimicked one such actions by stomping a Zergling under his right boot while firing a burst of bolter fire into the chest of an offending Hydralisk. He remembered how the first of his line, the Sergeant Pavilios of the Ultramarines Legion, one of the myriads of heroes from the age long forgotten, came to Lylacus along with his selected group of Astartes to found a new Chapter under the mandate of Primarch Guilliman. Though nowhere as profound as the births of Primogenitor Chapters, but as a Fourth Founding Chapter, the Crimson Knights began their auspicious journey with no less than a dozen survivors from the original Ultramarines Legion. Captain Ossmosius became the first Chapter Master, and others became Captains or of other key positions within the Chapter. Among those heroes was Brother Sergeant Pavilios elevated to Captaincy of the Sixth Company within the newly-born Chapter. His titles remained with the Sixth Company, but the House of his gene-seeds remained and became the House de Beaulac, one of the Greater Houses of the Chapter.

The Battle Brother gritted his teeth in remembering his genetic history. He knew that his lineage was full of heroes, and he was determined not to fall now. He had ambition, and he was sure that he would soon rise among the brothers. That thought boiled within him, and it pained him that there was a possibility that he could die on this wretched world under the chitins and claws of a horrifyingly ugly aliens. Hydralisk spines dug deep into his chest plate, but Calion was not going to falter from such things. No, he had much greater future, and he would not fall if it was up to him at all. Solvig fought on despite his left leg punctured by the claws of a Hydralisk as he struggled with a Hunter that now grappled with the Terminator in a vicious struggle of strength. Calion bit his lips and tasted blood even as he pushed the Chainsword deep into the back of a Roach before kicking its head apart.

-Brother! Hold fast!- A familiar voice echoed within his helmet.

Calion's gene-brother Seros de Beaulac but a member of the venerated First Company came rushing in his Terminator Armor. Calion was not sure if the man called for Calion or for Solvig, but it did not matter. Seros was a large man, larger than even his fellow burly Space Marines. The man was a monster by his size alone, but his combat prowess was legendary even among his Veteran Brothers. Unlike his brothers, he was armed with two fists. His right hand was Power Fist with bolter, like the ones that his brothers were carrying on their left hands, and his left hand was clad in a Chainfist, but of boney white color with red sword with wings. Indeed, Veteran Brother Seros de Beaulac was armed with a Chainfist made by the Dark Angels. It was a relic of many millennia when the two Chapters somehow and somewhere aided each other and exchanged such valued wargear in respect. Crimson Knights never forgets such things, and they keep such weapons and wargears in their original colors and in full function thus honor them by keeping them in battle against the Emperor's enemies.

"I have come! Die xenos! Not even your flesh-tank could stop me!"

Seros roared as he charged into a wave of Zerglings on his way toward Calion and Solvig. Calion took a quick peek and saw that not even mighty Seros was without wound in this fight. These 'Zerg' were not easy enemies, and their biological weapons were far more dangerous than expected. Seros' Terminator Armor featured a dozen deep gashes and cuts, some with traces of blood. Although faring much better than Solvig, who just had punched the Hunter down although he obviously wanted that punch to crush through the carapace of the large Hydralisk-like creature. Calion kicked another Zergling out of the way before reloading and spraying his bolter at the two Hydralisk seeking to attack Solvig from behind.

"You are doing fine, little brother! Calion, to me! Take my back!" Seros roared as he easily recognised his gene-brother of his House.

The bolter beneath Seros' Power Fist tore apart a Roach before the Chainfist cleaved a Hydralisk into two. Calion quickly took to his brother's order, and reloaded his bolter as he moved to defend Seros. Then Calion saw how Seros was dragging behind him a dozen Zerglings. Calion smiled at the chance of glory.

"Steel my heart, Primarch, and I shall deliver glory unto your name! Die, foul ones!" Calion roared.

Dakka dakka dakka dakka! Dakka dakka dakka dakka! Dakka dakka dakka dakka!

His bolter barked sharply as he quickly fell five Zerglings before his Chainsword met them in flesh. Suddenly, Calion was swarmed by claws and biting fangs. A Zergling's claw punched through his left shoulder pauldron, the polarization node in that part of the armor having given up minutes ago and the mere layers of ceramite and plasteel could not stop the thin veil of psionic energy encasing the claws. Against an experienced Astartes, however, such attacks were next to nothing. Calion's left arm was already bent and the bolter pointed upward and firing, turning the Zergling into a mush. However, the attacks were far from over. The Space Marine felt a Zergling swiping claws at his right knee and another Zergling sought to cut Calion's right wrist, seeking to disarm the man.

Suddenly, a blast from a Plasma Pistol ended the life of the Zergling that sought to sever the Astartes' wrist. The Deathwatch Chaplain, whom Calion did not know the name of, had aided the embattled Crimson Knight with a perfectly accurate shot from his Plasma Pistol even as he ran past. His hand free, Calion tore out the head of the other Zergling. Then the auto-sense of his armor warned him of a large creature to his left.

Calion barely had time to turn his head before something shot out from the ground. It was large and it was green and it looked like a balloon filled with glowling green liquid. It impacted Calion and exploded, showering him with powerful acid that his armor instantly recognized as something very dangerous. Acid seeped into the tiny cracks and cuts made by the Zerg creatures and Calion felt the painful burning sensation as his body quickly sought to counter the poisonous effect of the acid within the bloodstream. The damage to the armor was severe. Without polarization and thin film of disruptive energy they exuded, the left shoulder pauldron began to lose coherency as the acid ate away into the armor.

It was mere moments before the arms of the Power Armor became useless and exposed the thin black cloth on Calion's left arm, and the Machine Spirit of the Power Armor continued to scream desperately to warn its user. Calion fell to his knee as his right kidney was punctured by a claw of a Hydralisk that sneaked past his armor's sensors. Calion felt his right arm weaken, but he was a Space Marine and such failure could not happen. He raised his Chainsword once more and struck down upon the head of a Roach that now found the wounded Space Marine. Another flash of pain indicated to him that the Hydralisk behind him had driven its other claw into Calion's right shoulder joint. The Chainsword was stuck within the Roach's shell, and with a claw having torn apart his right shoulder, he could not raise it again. As he sat there helpless, he saw a small group of Inquisitorial Stormtroopers firing desperately against waves of highly organized Zerglings that evaded the lasgun beams with impressive agility. The last thing Calion saw was a Zergling that came rushing toward him with its jaw open wide.

* * *

><p>Ser Henri de Arignon growled as he sensed his brothers fall one by one. There were simply too many enemies, and they were powerful and organized. These may looked the same as creatures before, but they were not same. These were organized to a point where they struck where defenses were weak, and flanked Stormtroopers and the Imperial Guards pouring firepower from behind the frontline. Little by little, the forces of Imperium was being pushed back. They need aid. He knew it but his pride stopped him from calling for it. His armor indicated that the two de Beaulac brothers had fallen under the flurry of claws, not even the mighty Terminator Armor saving neither Seros nor Solvig. Both veteran warriors managed to fell an Ultralisk each, and while great feat, they had no support. For a brief moment, Henri regretted his foolish pride and it led to his squad being without support.<p>

"Strike Cruiser 'Paladin's Blade', Drop Pod insertion on my position! Assault squads de Dufour and Devastator squad de Langois behind me, and bring me Brother Gaston!"

Henri finally made the call, and indicated the optimal position using his armor and transmitted the coordinates to his ship.

"I will not fall by your deeds, xeno!" He roared as he slashes down his massive long-bladed Power Axe.

In his left hand, his Power Fist did not stop for a second between the kills. Against his crimson colors the green of his Power Fist and the white & blue of his Power Axe's handle seemed so contrasting and bordered on strangeness, yet each weapon was a relic of the Chapter. They were powerful weapons too. In his hand, the Axe of Hargest, an ancient weapon forged in the days amid the terrible Horus Heresy was given to the Novamarines during their founding. Although it began as a mere Power Axe, it was eventually given to a Sergeant Hargest around 35th Millennia. According to records of the Novamarines, as requested by the Crimson Fists during their exchange of wargears around M38, the Sergeant quickly rose to the rank of the Chapter's 5th Company and carried on to do many great deeds against the xenos, and eventually the blade was consecrated and tended to by the Chapter's Master of Forge, remaking it into a Master-Crafted Weapon of the significant power. Only one such as Heri de Arignon the heir to the Captaincy of the First Company should something foul happen to Captain Regent Cristos Filipe Adamus de Erau and a veteran of nearly six centuries of mighty deeds would be allowed such venerated and powerful weapon.

His power was doubled by the fact that he was personally granted the Power Fist sheathing his left hand. The 'Claws of Salastos' was a Power Fist crafted by the Captain of Salamander's 4th Company, who was a fine artisan like all Salamanders. This Master-Crafted Power Fist bore the claws of a salamander caught and slain on Mountain Deathfire, and placed across the nuckle and across the blade of the hand from the knucle of the little finger to the wrist. Not only was this Power Fist contained more powerful field generator, it maintained a small emergency battery with enough energy to strike at least a dozen times, and this did not include a separate field generator and battery for the clawed knuckles. Even with the power cable cut, or without the disruptive field of the fist active, there was enough destructive power within those adamantium-coated salamander claws to rend a fully armored Chaos Marine into pieces, as Henri had personally experienced.

It was with these weapons that Henri sought to clear a path for the Librarian of his Chapter and the two Astartes of the Ultramarines albeit seconded to the Deathwatch. A daft strike with his axe cleft two Hydralisks and a punch with his fist tore a large hole in a Roach. An arc of psychic lightning shot forth above his head as the Inquisitor, barely fifty meters behind Henri blew apart a Zergling who dared to leap unto the Veteran Sergeant. Beside Henri were two of his Veterans. Brother Ored de Reyer and Brother Bergos de Charlagnon were with him, stopping the flanking moves by the Zerg against the three heroes who were now almost upon the commanding creature that towered over everything else. Ored of House de Reyer fought with his Lightning Claw and the terrible Multi-melta. It was rare to have a Terminator armed with Multi-melta, but it was again a relic of the Chapter and such things were not cast aside so easily.

Hot blazing melta-fire seared across the field, utterly destroying a dozen Roaches in a single blast before the Lightning Claw finished off the last one in that batch.

"Brother Sergeant, look! Reinforcement has come!" Ored shouted and Henri looked up.

A Stormtalon was seen moving down from the clouded sky quickly followed by three Drop Pods falling toward the hill. The Stormtalon noticed the mighty lumbering beast that was the Reaver, and fired off its missiles. The powerful Skyhammer missiles slammed into the creature, but the great flash of shield held back the damage. It only served to distract the creature.

"You... dare?"

The creature's tentacles flared up as if in anger, then from its mouth spat out a massive bolt of energy, almost plasma-like but the crackling energy around the bolt perhaps indicated its psychic nature. The bolt struck the Stormtalon perfectly and the Astartes vehicle's rear exploded. It fell slowly, while fuming terrible smoke behind it. Yet, the Stormtalon brought them an advantage. Distracted, the creature could not assail the trio of warriors that sought to do battle upon its flesh.

"Now, brothers! We war in the name of Guilliman! We fight in the honor of the Emperor! Drive back these xeno filths! Push to victory!" Henri roared as he moved forward, hoping to join the trio of Deathwatch and the Crimson Knight Librarian in a glorious showdown.

Beep!

Henri's armor indicated that Sergeant de Scoteaux had fallen, critically injured but not dead, as well as two of his squadmates. Secured in the fact that Veteran Brother Andre de Volsac had defeated the Ultralisk with the aid of Battle Brother de Champe and his Sergeant de Scoteaux, Henri trusted his own squadmate to defend the fallen Sergeant's body until the Drop Pods landed.

Slam! Slam! Slam!

Three Drop Pods finally arrived in the thick of battle. One landed mere sixteen meters from Henri, between him and the trio of Astartes fighting the commanding creature. Other two landed behind the line of Space Marines holding back the Zerg.

"I... have... come... to wreak... havoc upon... their... foul... flesh..."

The Drop Pod opened, and revealed Brother Gaston de Chivalie, once Captain to the 3rd Company almost a millennia ago now interred within the sarcophagus of a Dreadnought. Armed with a pair of Dreadnought Power Fists with underslung Stormbolter and Meltagun, the highly decorated Dreadnought seemed quite impervious to scrutiny. Indeed, upon exiting the Drop Pod, he went to work immediately, cleasing a whole cadre of Zerglings with his Stormbolter and stomping on their caracasses, yet, he was not called for such menial job.

"Brother Gaston! Take that beast down! Let your name be remembered as the slayer of a monster!"

"Ah! At last... a sizeable... opponent." The Dreadnought growled and moved toward the Hybrid Reaver.

Henri almost smiled but he was quickly assailed by a squad of Hydralisks led by a Hunter, and a dozen spines bounced off his tough armor.

"You seek to assail me, worms? Then I shall tear you to pieces."

His first punch pulped a Hydralisk and his axe moved in a graceful arc that severed another's head. Two Hydralisks flanked him, and sought to take advantage of his cumbersome bulk by slashing at his side with their claws. A Terminator Armor of Henri's station would not fail so easily, however, and though deep scratches and gashes were made, Henri had enough time to cut them down. It was the Hunter he needed to focus, and he knew this too. The Hunter made a thrusting motion with its outstretched claw right into his face, protected by the powerful Iron Halo. Bare-faced, Henri bravely met this attack with an attack of his own. He swung his axe diagonally upward, and the beast cringed first, and retreated both of its claws to block the attack. The glow of its claw flared against the crackling disruptive field of Henri's Power Axe.

The Hunter suddenly spat out a glob of acid, which Henri quickly blocked with his Power Fist, but it obscured his vision for a second, and it was enough for the Hunter to back down and send its remaining Hydralisks. A Hydralisk from Henri's left flank fired off spines, and they got stuck in his side, though not enough to really damage the armor, but it served as a distraction. Even as Henri pulvurized the offending Hydralisk, the Hunter leapt and slashed down with its claws. Henri quickly blocked the attack with its Power Axe, and the two weapons flared up against each other once more. The Hunter then used its secondary claws neatly folded into a coiled position beneath its primary claws. Like lightning, the pair of sharp and glowing claws were fired right into the chest plate of the Terminator Sergeant before he could block it. The polarization matrix groaned against foreign energy field colliding upon it and the metal that it reinforced. Henri crinkled his nose as the first few of his chest plate's armor layers were pierced, leaving only last two layers intact. In a movement of instinct, his Power Fist slammed into the creature's right chest, but surprisingly, a layer of shield flared up and blocked the attack. It was enough to knock the creature down, however, and even as it fell, it was blasted apart by a powerful bolt of plasma fired by Squad de Langois' Devastator.

-Go on ahead, Brother Sergeant. We shall hold their tide here.- Sergeant de Langois' voice spoke through the vox channel.

"Thank you brother." Henri replied as he turned toward where the battle between the large creature, a Dreadnought and three Astartes was happening.

"Into the fray, brothers!" Henri roared as he charged.

* * *

><p><strong>10 minutes before the arrival of Hybrid Reaver on Hill T05<strong>

**Primary Hive Cluster**

Volran's avatar sat upon a throne of bone and flesh, wriggling beneath his ghostly butt. He narrowed his eyes, or at least his image tried. He was inside that massive chamber beneath the Hive, and he started at the strange cocoon now covering the centre of that pit. Suddenly, three other ghostly figures appeared, and they all looked at Volran.

~You have summoned us, uncle Volran?~ Alena asked, her lithe figure shimmering.

"I have something we should discuss." Volran answered, and Hargen and Elric looked at him in surprise.

Rarely did Volran spoke up first, both when he was human and now that he was a Zerg.

~What has your thoughts so tied up that you summon us? And without the personal attention of the Overmind?~ Hargen questioned.

"As you may know, this world is an insignificant world of little to no resource that we want. Also, it is not a great strategic location either." Volran began.

~We've heard. Was not the fault of the Warp Storm nearby?~ Elric asked curiously.

"That's what I had thought also, but upon further investigation, I have come to question that." Volran explained, and he showed a holographic map of the surrounding region of space.

~That must be Warp Storm that threw off the Leviathan from its course.~ Alena dismissed it quickly.

"I think not. The course of the wormhole-link did not come even close the Warp Storm. We know that two points of a Swarm's wormhole-link makes only very minor curvitures around the most intense gravity wells, but Warp Storms, though parallel in dimensional planes, could not affect our wormholes in ways that would have afflicted only a part of the fleet in such ways."

~How so?~ Elric asked, his clawed fingers running across his carapace-covered face.

"A Warp Storm is not a gravity anomaly that could affect our wormhole in such way. If it was, it would be as powerful as a blackhole, and the whole region of space would have gone dark."

~So? How does that link to anything?~ Elric queried as his avatar formed a flesh chair then sat down.

"It was not the Warp Storm that had split off the Leviathan fleet, nor was it the cause of what happened to the memory of the creature."

~You think something else has affected the fleet and tore a piece off it and threw it down upon this place?~ Alena asked as she folded her wings around her waist.

Volran's avatar shifted a little, and the flesh throne pulsed as if to match his movements.

"There is no doubt about that. However, that is not what truly concerned me."

~The missing memory... Yes... I wondered about that too, I must admit.~ Hargen said.

"Exactly. Before I wondered about the Warp Storm, I did not think twice about the memory loss, but now that all this had piqued my interest... I realized that the memory loss is simply not natural and very much not caused by the Warp Storm."

Hargen was now interested as well, and he sat down. It wasn't really sitting down, but mere repetition of behaviors of their former lives as humans. Alena sighed a little and sat down as well upon the newly grown flesh chair.

"I sifted through the memory until I found this." Volran said as he waved his hand over the centre of the chamber to bring up an image.

There was a fleet of almost ghost-like ships, barely seen by naked eye. Hidden in the darkness of the space, they lurked just outside the field of vision.

~Are they the mysterious enemy?~ Alena asked.

"I believe so... and I believe that they are... the Eldar..." Volran nodded.

~Hmmm... I did encounter the Dark Eldar on one of the planets I wanted to invade. It was a small group and I dispatched them quickly, but they were quite agile if I remember correctly.~ Hargen mentioned.

Each human commander was leading a massive fleet of Zerg forces but they were hiding in deep dark regions of the galaxy. They were setting up bases of operation against the forces of the galaxy, and it was not an easy or a quick task to complete, especially if they wanted to avoid the attention of the galaxy's major factions.

~Well, I've only encountered Orks and humans, though I almost accidently invaded an Imperial world before I managed to hid my fleet. Of the eleven planets I was planning to invade, I found Orks on four of them, and two of those four planets were considered Dead Worlds to the Imperials.~ Elric continued. ~I haven't encountered the Eldar yet, but if you get to fight them, I would like to know what I may have to face when I meet them.~

"I shall collect every necessary data for you, brother." Volran answered.

~I suppose I could seek out a proper group of Dark Eldar just to get us some experience in dealing with them, but from all that we already know and from all the data we have taken from the Imperials, the Dark Eldar are nothing more than opportunistic pirates and scavengers. I don't think we would need to worry too much about them.~ Hargen declared.

Alena nodded at Hargen's assessment.

~I agree. I think we need to concern ourselves more with the Eldar, given how they could perhaps assail us and leave no traces... and to wipe out the memory of a Leviathan and the Hiveseer in control of it... that is not an easy feat by any standard.~

"I have already laid out a plan to lure the Eldar into open. My Overseers tell me that Imperials are about to attack one of the outlying Hive Clusters. I will use something a little too powerful for the Imperials to draw the Eldar response." Volran explained.

~Sounds good to me.~ Elric said as his avatar disappeared along with Hargen.

Alena eyed Volran for a moment before standing up to disappear.

"Wait a moment, Alena." Volran stopped her.

The lithe avatar of the Queen of the Swarm paused and turned her head toward the Lord of Kaiser Blades.

~Was there something else you wished to discuss, uncle Volran?~ She asked, yet unlike her voice and tone, her eyes were hard.

Yet, her gaze was met with steeled eyes of Volran.

"There was something that I would not speak in front of others, but as the one with closest connection to the Overmind, I wanted to talk to you."

~We are all equal in the eye of the Overmind. Yet, if you deem it wise, speak to me of this matter that you would not share with others.~

Volran's avatar stood up and moved across the room and reached closer to Alena.

"The memory loss..."

~What of it? You have declared it the work of the Eldar. With the Eldar in possession of more powerful of psykers among the races of this galaxy, I don't doubt your conclusion.~

Volran smiled darkly.

"Well, I wasn't telling the truth of my investigation."

~Oh?~

"Actually, I do not believe that the Eldar has the power or the skill to rip out precise memory of a Hiveseer and any witnesses. I believe... that it was the work of the Overmind, and he is planning something, and he has deceived us in order to carry it out. Only the Overmind has the power and ability to selectively delete memory perfectly, and leave just enough traces to make it seem like the work of the Eldar."

Volran watched Alena as he spoke his suspicions. Then something he thought impossible happened. Alena's avatar grabbed Volran's avatar, a feat thought impossible since they were mere projection of their real being. Yet, Volran could not help but find his consciousness grabbed and throttled by the sheer ferocity of Alena's psychic might.

~You would do well to keep such thought out of your mind, Volran.~ She dispensed with false niceties of calling him 'uncle'. ~Remember that you live only through the graces of the Overmind's generosity. You who would have made excellent manure for the Creep to consume, was made god-like and immortal. I would think it a betrayal of such magnanimous charity if you ever speak those words again. Even if the Overmind has some plans that did not share with us, and even if such plans involve his deception of us, then so be it. We exist only through his will, and you would well to be wise about it. We must not question him. We must not doubt him. We must be obedient.~

There was something in her voice that terrified Volran, and he realized that Alena was not the little girl that he remembered in the life long ago. She was the Queen, and she was most powerful psyker that the Swarm commanded. She was also very close with the Overmind.

"Yes... I live to serve."

~Never forget that... Now, perhaps it is best if you attend to your trap against the Eldar and the Imperials?~

Volran nodded and his essense dissipated, transferring closer to the battlefield.

Within that empty chamber, Alena's avatar did not disappear, but she lingered around for a moment before a giant eyeball slung down from the ceiling of the chamber.

"**You have done well, my dear.**" I complimented her.

~You were watching? He suspects correctly. I did not think he had the brains to figure it out.~ Alena replied.

"**Of course I was watching. I am the Overmind. I watch you all from every direction imaginable. In fact, I see from within you. I saw how he realized that my plans were far more complicated than I let on, and his uncanny intelligence hidden beneath rough personality was one of the reasons that I have chosen him.**" I spoke, my single eyeball suspected in mid-air by fibres of nerves and muscles.

~Still, I don't think he understands the whole thing.~

"**How could he? He could not have known that I have planted my agents across this subsector, and such fact remains hidden from the Eldar as well.**"

~I still think it is risky. Any strain of the Life-Eater virus would never be good against a species such as us.~

"**The virus itself can be contained by our psionics. It is the firestorm resulting from the virus that we must be wary of.**"

~Of course.~

* * *

><p><strong>952.739.M41<strong>

**Battle of Hill T05**

The Hybrid Reaver roared as it spat out a deadly phase disruptor pulse at the flying Stormtalon, and the rear section of the small aircraft was disintegrated into mangled metal. The fuel and the engine exploded, shattering the balance of the craft and sending spiralling down to the ground. However, it did give an opening for the Imperials.

"Strike it down! Smash its bones! Tear its flesh! Bring it down in the name of the Emperor most holy! Charge!" Matoras roared as he charged at the creature.

The grim Chaplain was first to reach the creature, and even as it tracked the Stormtalon and fired a pulse of phase disruptor, the Space Marine Chaplain struck the creature with his Crozius. The crackling energy field of the powerful melee weapon seemed to hit the creature, but the creature was defended by more than its flesh.

The creature featured skin-tight layer of plasma shield, more powerful than the version that protected the Queen against Captain Titus. What was once the mighty symbol and even mighter power weapon was nothing but an infant's tantrum-filled fist banging against an iron door. Behind his helmet, the Chaplain grimaced at the failure of the attack, but he was no fool. He made the quick and sound tactical decision to withdraw from that engagement. He was an Ultramarine after all, and he was not a stubborn Imperial Fist or berserking Blood Angel. He was an Ultramarine, and like their Primarch, they preferred their tactics flexible and pragmatic. Though as a Chaplain of that great and ancient Chapter, Matoras knew the Codex Astartes by heart and adhered to every word of it, but like a true Space Marine of Guilliman's lineage, he knew to follow the spirit of those words not the words themselves.

"By the Primarch! So you won't die so easily, is that it?" The Chaplain growled to himself.

The Chaplain withdrew, taking several hasty yet measured steps back, but the creature was not a beast as he had previous expected. Without even taking a glimpse, the creature struck out with its left upper claws. The twin scyth-like claws that glowed in eerie purple field of humming energy sliced through the air, scraping across the Chaplain's armor. It was not enough, however, and Matoras felt only first two layers of his armor being pierced, but even that was enough to cause a slight worry to the Astartes. He knew his armor to be formidable, capable of bouncing off the spines of Hydralisks when it at an angle, yet this creature had easily pierced the thick plate of adamantium that made up the exterior layer.

"You shall not take him, foul monstrosity!" The fell voice of the Librarian echoed in the Chaplain's ears just before a burst of blinding lightning struck the creature in the face.

The shield flared up but it was enough to temporarily blind and stun the creature. With his psychic energy spilling out from his eyes like a storm of Warp itself, the Librarian raised his Force Axe at the creature from a distance before sending another such bolt of energy. Remarkably, the creature had recovered fast, and quickly raised his right uper claws to knock the bolt of psychic energy aside, and its glowing claws had dissipated the psychic attack with a small explosion.

The attack by the Space Marines were not over by any means.

"Titus, you have the tactical genius that befit your rank and station. Assess our enemy, and let us get to killing it." Matoras demanded into his vox, even as he raised his plasma pistol to fire upon the creature's face.

Titus narrowed his eyes even as he took deliberate forward steps.

"I see it shares same defensive shield as the Queen, but this one is tougher and it is tighter. It would be harder to destroy this foul thing's personal shield with a barrage of artillery. I also see two attack patterns so far. It's upper claws and the energy blast that it fired from its mouth. However, I can guess at least two more attack patterns. Before the lower arms. They may be slightly shorter, but I do not doubt they are as deadly." Titus commented.

"What about the second possible attack, Captain?" Kolonnes asked through the vox just as he fired off his Storm Bolter at the creature that tried to open its mouth, which the Librarian shut it by sending a volley into its face only to be blocked by the shield.

"The tentacles on its back. Their ends are sharp, and though they don't seem to be glowing, they could easily reach a distance." Titus answered, raising his bolter and carefully aiming at the creature.

"**So, pitiful... You waste... your lives... We would have... cherished... your flesh... as we devoured them...**" The Reaver growled as the probing stage of the battle came to an end.

It was the Reaver that began the next stage of this epic battle. Its feet moved at last, striding forward with a heavy momentum, the creature rushed at Titus. It slashed its right upper claw at Titus, who took a step out of its line of attack and let the glowing claws dig into the ground mere meters from him. Though the creature stood tall and mighty, reaching about a meter taller than a Dreadnought, it was not impossible in size for Titus to deal with it. The Ultramarine Captain struck down hard with his sword at the creature's upper forearm fully knowing that his strikes would not be effective except to drain the creature's shield.

"It cheats! Its shield will not hold for long, brothers." Matoras growled via the vox.

The Chaplain had appeared from the creature's right side and slammed its Crozius at the creature's right hip even as the Slient One, the Standard Bearer of the Crimson Knights, appeared from the left side and made a thrust with his Power Sword. Yet, they had underestimated the Reaver. Titus' blade sizzled against the impenetrable shield but that made him pause, and it was enough for the Reaver to make a back-handed strike with its lower claws, whose reach had now included the Ultramarine Captain.

"Titus!" Someone shouted in horror.

Titus was pushed back, its chest armor cracked and dented.

"Minor damage to the breast plate. All combat function still online. Do not hesitate. If I die, I die in battle." He replied, wincing at the impact he had just felt. The Silent One too had been struck back-handed by the other lower claw hand, and he was sent reeling back, though the flag still stood upright. Matoras made another strike, but just as Titus predicted, the tentacles reached out and wrapped themselves around Matoras.

"Chaplain, stand fast!" Vanguard Veteran Olivier de Morand shouted as he came to the assistance of the Chaplain, making a deep and wide cut with his chainsword.

One of the tentacles fought back, striking the Vanguard Veteran across his beaked Corvus helmet that knocked the warrior back. Then, moving impossibly fast, the tentacle changed its stance and made a thrust into the Space Marine's chest.

"You will not kill me, xeno. I have suffered greater foes than you!" The warrior screamed defiantly even as he twisted his torso to evade the attack.

Olivier was experienced enough to twist his body just in time to let the tentacle punch into the armor where the wound would remain superficial. The six tentacles writhed and pulsed and whipped about against the Chaplain and the Vanguard Veteran, throttling Matoras and wounding Olivier, yet neither Space Marine was truly neutralized.

"Let me go! I will not be manhandled by the likes of you! By the Emperor I shall tear your flesh piece by piece!" Matoras spewed threats and words but he felt the thick cords of the tentacle squeezing his arms to his sides.

It was into this scene that the two Sternguards and the other Vanguard Veteran made a strike against the creature.

"You fight without honor, and I shall kill you for it." The tassel-helmeted Sternguard declared.

With his white tassel on his Ultramarine-blue helmet that made a stark contrast against his crimson armor, Sternguard Veteran Gregoire de Charlagnon fired off his Master-Crafted Bolter that spat out endless streams of Kraken Penetrator Rounds.

"Save the Chaplain, brother Jean-Noel." Gregoire asked.

"Turn its body, I shall cut down that tentacle by its roots." Brother Jean-Noel replied.

Beside Gregoire was Sternguard Veteran Jean-Noel de Cherol who primed his lascannon to fire.

"I shall distract it myself, brothers." The Vanguard Veteran answered the call.

Guarding the Sternguard Veterans was the Vanguard Veteran Gautier de Perot, defiantly hacking away at the creature with his Power Hammer.

Against so many Space Marines, the Hybrid Reaver seemed lost, unable to handle the attacks. Even Titus thought their victory near. This notion was quickly abandoned when the creature sprang into action. Both Matoras and Olivier were grabbed by the tentacles and slammed into the ground, with Olivier dying with four of the tentacles buried in his torso. The warrior screamed a brief howl of surprise before the writhing ends of the Reaver's tentacles suddenly glowed in brighter glow and burrowed into the weakened sections of Olivier's chest plate. The psionically charged edges of the tentacles tore through the molecular bonds of the flesh and bones, and cracked through the ceramically reinforced rib-cage of a Space Marine with ease. The two hearts were pierced and kidneys were pulverized.

Jean-Noel quickly fired his lascannon at the roots of the tentacles only to have the shield flare and dissipate the blast. However, Titus saw the minor flickering of his enemy's shield, and sought to prey upon it. Sending a grenade up in the air right in the face of the Reaver, the Ultramarine Captain lunged at the creature. The grenade exploded, showering the creature with shrapnel and in that moment, the Power Sword in Titus' right hand struck the Reaver. The plasma shield of the Zerg creature flared up insanely at the disruption field of the Power Sword that made a little way past the shield itself.

"Argh!" Titus screamed as he poured all this strength into the sword.

The creature roared in return but its movements were restrained by the Librarian whose telekinetic burst had wrapped itself around the creature's upper claws and pinned them up in the air. With its left lower claws in a match against the crackling Power Hammer of Brother Gautier, the Reaver struck back with its right lower claw.

"I will not fall from such minor wounds, creature." Titus growled even as the psi blades surrounding the claws of the Reaver rent through his right pauldron and parts of his chest plate.

"Indeed... You... shall not... fall this... day!" A roaring answer met Titus' declaration.

From amid the low-laying fume of exploded blood, the massive metallic form of the Hononored Brother Gaston de Chivalie in his Dreadnought shell appeared, stampeding through a rank of Roaches and Zerglings that sought to stymie his advances. Raising his right Power Fist the Dreadnought fired off a burst of Melta fire, cascading the Reaver in a blaze of white hot super-heated gas that sent the creature shuddering and spasming. In that attack, the plasma shield finally flickered properly, and Titus could drive his sword into the creature's chest. The disruptive energy of the sword's blade shattered the molecular bonds of the carapace and seared into the flesh.

In pain and in rage, the Reaver suddenly wrapped its clawed fingers around the sizzling head of the Power Hammer and flung the thing at the Dreadnought, with Brother Gautier still attached to it on the other end. Such was the momentary adrenaline-filled strength of the Reaver that a fully armored Space Marine was flung at such speed that Brother Gaston stumbled a little when Brother Gautier slammed into him.

"Are you... injured... little... one?" The Dreadnought asked Gautier even as he raised his other Power Fist to send a volley of Storm Bolter fire.

"Ugh... That beast shall pay for this!" Gautier growled as he picked himself up, but stumbled a little from the sheer impact.

With its both lower claws free, the Reaver made a jab at Titus who decided to withdraw from that engagement. It was also that moment when Matoras got back into the battle, and broke one of the tentacles with his Crozius. His armor comprimised in places and blood featuring on his armor here and there, the Chaplain willed himself to stand again.

"I am not done with you yet, creature." The Chaplain growled.

"Beware! It's breaking free!" Kolonnes screamed even as thick beads of sweat dropped from forehead.

CRAAAAAAAGH!

The Reaver screamed as it let out another burst of psionic energy that the Librarian had held in check for the first two times, but this time, the Reaver had learned. It collected the energy and let out a piercing burst at the Librarian.

"Ugh!" Kolonnes suddenly rolled to the side, and an intense exploded shattered the ground where he was but a moment before, and in that desperate evasion, the Librarian had to release the Reaver's main claws.

Another blast from the lascannon of Brother Jean-Noel struck the creature in the face with such precision that only a veteran could display, but the shield was back. Though flickering, the shield had reformed most strongly around its head. Turning its head, the Reaver opened its fanged maw at Jean-Noel.

"Watch out!" Titus roared even as he evaded a swipe from the left upper claw that made a deep gash on the ground.

A burst of blue-white energy shot out from the Reaver's mouth at Brother Jean-Noel, whose form encumbered by the weight of the lascannon could not shift out of the way in time. Though the burst of psionic energy was much smaller than the one that had shot down the Stormtalon, it was most certainly dangerous.

"Brother!" Brother Gregoire leapt into the air and knocked Jean-Noel out of the way, but was struck in his stead.

"Gregoire! Damn you, creature! Each second adds to your sin, and I shall purge you for it!" Kolonnes shuddered in rage.

The Librarian's eyes glowed in deadly ire and his mind pulsed with powers of the Warp. To him, the world seemed to slow down, and every molecule, every atom and their patterns were emboldened. In his mind's eye, the world shattered and reassembled into a brilliant multitudes of color. He moved. His body remained fixed but his soul reached out and grabbed from around him the pure energies of the Warp. The daemons, finding the brightly burning soul of a Space Marine Librarian smelled him out and took small peeks at him from the cracks of reality. Yet, Kolonnes was powerful and he was protected by more than his training. His Psychic Hood and relics sizzled into life within the Warp, and like giant bonfire, they reacted every time a Daemon sought to approach the Librarian.

Kolonnes saw the Reaver in his mind's eye. There was a dull pain starting in his brain, slowly creeping up his spine and the stem of his brain. Yet, he saw it. It was a strange creature that seemed to breath in the Warp, and though it was but a little amount, the raw energies of the Warp were drained by the creature.

"What are you, creature? I see that you are weakened." Kolonnes whispered.

He could see the thinning of the creature's shield, and saw the fluctuations. The Warp gathered in front of the Librarian like a small storm, and he honed it and solidified it. It was a powerful telekinetic attack, and it was going to be unseen and unfelt, and it was going to deal a critical strike. He was sure of it.

It flew like a bolt of lightning and then it struck the creature like a missile hitting a bunker. Then time returned to normal. Kolonnes could not even see the result of his attack, for his mind was exhausted for a single moment and he had to fight off all manner of terrible things attempting to invade his soul.

Titus, however, could see the attack. The Reaver stumbled back as if it was hit with something powerful and heavy. It took two steps back, almost crushing Matoras with its steps, sending the wounded Chaplain rolling out of the way in a hurry. The chest of the creature looked like it was hit with a giant fist, and a large dent had appeared, seemingly broken its bones too. The Ultramarine Captain pressed the attack. He slashed at the creature's belly with his sword.

"No! Brother!" Jean-Noel screamed with an inconceivable sorrow in his voice, for he had lost a battle brother who he had fought side-by-side for well over two centuries. "Not like this, brother. We were suppose to die heroic deaths defending the Imperium to the end of its days. We cannot fall like this."

Jean-Noel cradled the fallen body of his battle brother for a moment before looking up at the Reaver in smoldering anger. He knew that his lascannon was too slow. He reached forth and picked up the Master-Crafted Bolter with drum magazine. Jean-Noel took the two spare magazines on Gregoire's belt and hooked them to his own.

"I will not your death be empty, brother." Jean-Noel whispered before he raised the gun and fired.

The Reaver roared as its shieldless form was struck by the bolter rounds. The powerful Kraken Penetrator Rounds sent adamantium cores into the thick carapace of the Reaver before they exploded. The Reaver's equivalent of left clavicle was shattered and a dozen rounds exploded in the chest carapace. It was into that situation Titus had made a series of devastating attacks. Though the Reaver's lower claws made desperate attempt to block Titus, but he was a Space Marine Captain of the Ultramarines. A diagonal slice from the Reaver's right lower claws was glanced off the blade before Titus drove it into the joint of that arm.

"Die... now..." Brother Gaston had recovered from temporary incapacitation from having a fully armored battle brother flung at him at a velocity.

Brother Gautier came up too. He lifted his Power Hammer and charged at the Reaver. Titus plunged his Power Sword into the creature's left thigh, only to be knocked back from a blow with its knee on his chest. Dent appeared on his chest and he was knocked unconscious from the sheer impact of that blow. The Reaver sought to finish Titus off by raising his right main claws up high, readying to make that fatal blow.

"Not... today... XENO!"

Gaston reached forth with his Dreadnought Power Fist and snatched at the creature's wrist before using his left arm to grab one of the remaining tentacles on its back and yanking the creature's head back. The Reaver struggled as it was pulled backward and its right arm incapacitated. Yet it was a Zerg, and a Zerg was not like anything that these Space Marines had faced before. The Reaver's left shoulder buckled and it suddenly reached around its body and slammed its left main claw into the body of the Dreadnought.

The metal plate that protected the ancient and venerated warrior warped and twisted as its own polarization matrix sought to hold its defenses against the glowing Psi Blades of the claw. Within seconds, the matrix failed, its network of wires of gold and copper severing into pieces and the metal's added strength quickly failed. Without such reinforcement, not even layers of adamantium and ceramite could withstand the molecular-disruptive edges of a Psi Blade, and the ancient Gaston could feel its front armor being comprimised. For the first time in almost a century, he felt the danger against his protective sarcophagus. He felt the claws digging as the auto-sensorum of the Dreadnought chassis registered such damage directly into his mind via the remaining parts of his Black Carapace.

"I shall break you, xeno! Do not lay hands on the sons of Guilliman, for we are the SPACE MARINES!" Gautier suddenly roared as he swung his Power Hammer into the belly of the beast.

Gautier had exploited the Reaver's inattention. So focused was the Reaver on the Dreadnought, the creature had failed to take Brother Gautier as a threat. That was a mistake most grave. The crackling energy field around the head of his Power Hammer rent through the carapace, the layer of exoskeleton, the network of thick muscles and the intestines. The Reaver stumbled as intense pain coursed through its flesh, momentarily stunning it. Gautier tried to pry the hammer from the flesh of the beast, but the Reaver was in the throes of pain and its spasms had kicked Brother Gautier aside.

Too wounded, the Reaver could not finish off Brother Gaston despite causing such damage that the operating systems of the walker no longer responded to Gaston's frantic attempt to move it. Immobilized, Gaston could not do anything but to watch as the creature slowly turned its head at the Dreadnought's armor now torn open.

"I judge you unworthy!" The last remaining combatant among the Space Marines had appeared.

Chaplain Matoras had charged despite his wounds, and had leapt into the air and landed on the Reaver's back, knocking it forward a little before the huge Space Marine grabbed at the root of a tentacle to fix himself into position.

"I shall kick your armor in." Matoras growled as he literally kicked so hard that his armored boot punched through the carapace of the Reaver's back and gave him a stable platform.

"I shall tear at your limbs." The Chaplain pulled the root of the tentacle and with a groan, the muscles tore and the tentacles was pulled out along with its nerve endings and ligaments.

"I shall drive the word of the Emperor into your heart." With that, he plunged his Crozius into the back of the creature where the gaping hole of what was once the position of torn tentacle.

The Reaver screamed as the heavy-set Space Marine had pushed in a hideously powerful melee weapon into the flesh, breaking one of its double spines and shattering its liver-like organ along with one of its three hearts. It vomitted blood and guts even as the Chaplain twisted the weapon.

"It is over for you, xeno!" Matoras shouted gleefully as he unhooked a Krak Grenade from his belt.

He was about to shove the grenade into the hole he had just made, when two of the remaining tentacles wrapped themselves around his left arm that held the grenade and his left shoulder.

"NO!"

With immense strength and speed, the creature's tentacles pulled out the Chaplain's arm from its socket and tore it out. Blood exploded from the shoulder socket as the muscles were torn into long harried stripes.

BOOM!

The Krak Grenade exploded, shattering Matoras' arm and the two tentacles, but with such severe bloodloss and pain, the Chaplain momentarily felt dizzy and his grip loosened.

It was the sound of heavy thud that revealed how the Chaplain fell from his position and rolled down behind the Reaver.

The Reaver roared in triumph. Though greviously wounded and bleeding profusely all over its body, it still moved. Reduced to near-crawl it may have been, but it moved and it moved toward the unconsious form of Captain Titus and it raised the left main claws for it was the only viable attack it had left in its arsenal.

Back in the frontline where more and more waves of Zerg had appeared out from everywhere to overwhelm the Imperials, the Space Marines of the Crimson Knights and the Inquisitor's retinue watched helpless and in horror as the Reaver shifted into position. The Terminators of the Crimson Knights redoubled their efforts, tearing through entire squads of Roaches and Hydralisks, and taking down yet more Ultralisks that had exploded out from the ground all around them. The Guardsmen were in desperate situation too, for they were now surrounded by Zerglings and Roaches, while their vehicles were tied down by the sudden appearance of Infesters and their Fungal Growth. The sudden surgency of Banelings did not help either.

All hope seemed lost. Titus willed himself to wakefulness but he could barely move his head let alone his limbs. He saw as the Reaver, though crippled also, prepare to deal death.

* * *

><p>It was in that moment that something happened that neither Titus nor the Reaver had expected.<p>

Two beams of white light, each from different angle and direction, had appeared in a brief flash and punctured through the Reaver's eyes. Explosions rocked the creature, and it stumbled and screamed in panic. Then, a new force joined the battle, unexpectedly and with a great momentum.

Two Howling Banshee Exarchs appeared, one armed with the long Excutioner Power Glaive and the other with a pair of Mirrorswords. Behind them appeared a band of Howling Banshees each. To the left flank of the battle came thirty such Banshees quickly supported by a Shuriken Cannon on Grav Platform and forty Guardians led by a single squad of Dire Avengers with an Exarch. The other strike force from the right flank of the battle consisted more of heavy weapons. Two full squads of Banshees were supported by a squad of Dire Avengers and three Shuriken Cannons. With deadly accuracy, the Guardians, the Dire Avengers and the Shuriken Cannons managed to bombard the Zerg with their ranged weapons even as the Power Swords of the Howling Banshees managed to slice a piece of reprieve for the embattled Imperial forces.

Then even as the Crimson Knight Terminators were struggling against the Ultralisks and waves of Hydralisks, more Eldar appeared. As if appearing from the mist and shadows, two squads of Striking Scropions appeared from nowhere, and cut down the alpha creatures in each Hydralisk group and tore apart significant part of the Zerg ranks. The Striking Scorpions had just as quickly disappeared into the shadows and darkness as they had appeared and they were replaced by three squads of Warp Spiders, their Death Spinners truly weaving a tapestry of death across the waves of Zerg creatures before teleporting away. Sandwiched between the sudden strike of Striking Scorpions and the bulwark of Space Marine Terminators, the Zerg forces wavered.

Two squads of Dark Reapers appeared between the Reaver and the frontline where the Terminators fought the Ultralisks. One squad aimed their weapons at the blinded Reaver while the other squad pointed their weapons upon the backs of Ultralisks and Roaches. Waves of armor-piercing missiles crashed upon the carapace and flesh, and then more Eldar appeared. From the jagged rocks behind the Reaver and the Nydus Worm appeared a squad of Fire Dragons and two squads of Dark Reapers who laid down heavy fire upon the Reaver and the the worm. From both sides of the Reaver had appeared a Wraithlord each, one on the left with Brightlance as its extra armament while the other one had Starcannon. The Brightlance pierced the side of the Reaver right before the mighty Wraithblade cut through the upper ribcage and out the other end. The Wraithlord on the right side of the Reaver shoved aside the immobilized form of Brother Gaston and fired a pulse of plasma into the jaw of the creature before skewering the Reaver's neck with its own sword.

Titus blinked hard. He knew that he and his companions had crippled the creature, but it was the Eldar who had taken advantage of the result. Crippled, the creature could not fight back effectively against the Eldar and their two Wraithlords. Knowing how agile and swift those Eldar warmachines are, Titus felt a tiny relief in knowing that the creature would die, and a pang of rage at the Eldar who, like all the times he had encountered them, sought only to use the humans to suit their needs. He felt the Librarian Kolonnes wake up too, from his stupor after a psychic wrestling match that had incapacitated him. A new lithe figure brushed past the Librarian, and Titus saw that an Eldar Farseer had appeared, leading a small host of bodyguards composed of four Warlocks.

"Mon-keigh are so without style or grace, I always wonder how they have survived this long." The Farseer sneered at Titus as she took a peek at his fallen form.

"You set up this trap, Eldar?" Titus growled a question as he tried to get up, only to be stopped by one of the Warlocks sliding the edge of his Witch Blade underneath his chin.

"There was indeed a trap, but not for you. You were the bait. You were the hook that held down this creature here, and wound it that noble Eldar blood may not be shed unnecessarily." The Farseer replied, further angering the Space Marine.

"What now, Eldar? You victory is not assured. You may kill me, and my friends here, but we have a squad of Terminators and thousands of Guardsmen." Titus spat.

"I know... but as I have said, human, this trap was meant for this creature. This powerful and unique creature. We have been watching this race of aliens... and they are strange..." The Farseer's voice became a whisper as she stood right in front of the Reaver, now bound and held down.

The Farseer pooled her willpower, aided by two of her Warlock bodyguards, and in her hands, a ball of pure psychic energy formed. Then, so casually as if flinging a speck of dust off her person, the Farseer flung the ball at the head of the Reaver.

BOOM!

The head exploded in a shower of flesh and gore.

Suddenly, every living Eldar in that battlefield screamed just as every Zerg suddenly roared in triumph. The Eldar fell to their knees as the most horrendous and blinding headache invaded their body, and for a moment, the battle paused. The Zerg were in stupor as well, as if their body locked in place by some greater will. Even the Farseer collapsed to the ground, and the two Warlocks who aided her became nothing more than a puff of bloody mist among the crumpling clothes and armor.

"NO!" The Farseer screamed in terror.

Yet, Titus had turned his attention to Kolonnes, who also seemed to scream in great pain, and he also heard the screams of the Inquisitor. It appeared that every psyker felt whatever that made the Farseer collapse.

It was a moment later that other Warlocks, wakened from the pain by sheer will, took to their Farseer.

"Eldar... we retreat... NOW!" One of the Warlock spoke, and one by one, the Eldar forces retreated back into the night, their ghostly presence soon nothing but a fading memory just like how they had appeared.

"Librarian... What is happening?" Titus asked, just as the comm function in his armor returned to minimum activation.

"We must leave... There are millions of them..." The Librarian barely replied.

"What?"

"There are millions of Zergs! Here! All around us!" The Librarian screamed as he propped himself upright.

"He is correct."

Titus finally could turn his head, and he saw Hadrian, hint of blood around his eyes as if he was crying blood.

"Librarian, we need emergency extraction." The Inquisitor said.

"I shall arrange it." The Crimson Knight said.

"We do not have much time. We must leave. Summon your Thunderhawks and I shall bring my Valkyries. Leave no one... We have enough time for that."

* * *

><p><strong><span>END OF CHAPTER 48<span>**


	49. Chapter 49

Thanks for the waiting!

Status update on my stories:

Stargate: Galactic Imperium - the next chapter is being written. It will involve more space battles and some ground battles before returning to GEK's POV.

Path to Godhood - I've written about half of the next chapter, and it will have the schemes and plots that you readers love... heh heh...

Swarm of War - Chapter 50 has been started! We are back to the Zerg and their might! Expect Zerg vs Eldar, Zerg vs IG (with BANEBLADES!), and Zerg vs Imperial Navy. Also, a prelude to the invasion of Riax, a proper Imperial world with defenses to boot! Yay!

One more thing:

Why were the Ultralisks so small? - You will find the answer here...

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 49<span>**

**Riax Sector – Istandor Subsector**

**Argol System**

**Argol II – Agri-world**

**954.739.M41  
>Southern Tundra<strong>

The Eldar had established their base amid the frozen hinterland near the south pole, where the endless tundra and black peaks of rocky mountain ranges had hidden their true location from their enemies. Here, not even the Zerg had yet reached forth with their deadly tendrils.

"Farseer, the Mon-Keigh forces have also withdrawn from that hill. Their crude crafts ferry the wounded Space Marines and the living soldiers as well as the weapons and armors of the dead. They are truly abhorrent in their barbaric practices. They show no reverence to their fallen comrades." The lithe and beautiful Exarch of the Howling Banshees spoke, her Excutioner tucked securely on her back.

The three other Banshee Exarchs, each of lesser age than she, were tending to the preparation of their warriors in anticipation of the next battle.

"Exarch Elendris, you are right in that these 'humans' are crude and barbaric, and their manners has much to be desired, but they are useful tools for which I am grateful. You and all of us have felt the presence... There are simply too many of these... Zerg, and we simply do not have the numbers to challenge even a fraction of this Swarm. I mean to use these Mon-Keigh to against the Zerg so that we may achieve what we have come to achieve." The Farseer commented, her words gentle yet strong.

"I agree with Farseer Seyeris, Elendris." Another voice interjected.

The senior Banshee Exarch turned to see the Autarch of her Craftworld. She made a small nod to the Eldar male of her Craftworld whose skills at war had been a thing of marvel.

"Autarch Mirensh Yar, I suspect that your mission was a success." Seyeris commented, not taking her eyes off the empty tundra before her.

"Just as you have predicted, Farseer. Though it is our actions that brought the 'Hungering Beasts' to this world, it is also of our actions that would save the lost souls." Mirensh Yar replied.

The Biel-Tan Autarch stood next to the Ulthwe Farseer and stared out into the open landscape also, his Fusion Gun and the Biting Blade still in his hands.

"How many have we saved today?" The Farseer asked from behind her tall helmet.

"More than three hundred. Spirit Stones of three Warlocks were also recovered from the wreckage, and we have found two vessels that could be salvaged... given enough time." The Autarch mentioned.

The Farseer bowed her head for a moment before shaking her head.

"We do not have the time... not even by throwing away the lives the Mon-Keigh that infests this world to buy our precious time. The Swarm will find us soon enough, and it would be difficult for us find a route of escape let alone recover damaged vessels."

The Bie-Tan's warrior-leader nodded.

"Still, it could be a great boon to have a Hellbore Frigate on hand." The Autarch muttered.

That caught the Farseer's attention.

"A Hellbore class? Is it damaged much?" She asked.

"The Bonesingers demanded eighteen planetary days for full repair, but it could be ready to lift off in fourteen if we spared every Bonesinger we have with us. I shall leave that decision up to you, Farseer. I do not need the Bonesingers at the moment, given how our basecamp has been firmly established."

Seyeris turned to see the gleaming white structures hidden among the craggy rocks and slopes.

"We have need a couple of Bonesingers if we are to set up ambushes and traps. Our next target lies in the valleys and mountains such as this, and it would be unthinkable for the Swarm to not notice us once we are on the move." The Farseer answered.

"Than I shall dispatch more warriors to the task. The recovery of 'his' Spirit Stone is of vital importance to the whole of Eldar, not just any one of the Craftworlds." The Autarch mentioned.

"Indeed, who would have known that it was the Eldar who had destroyed that moon upon which the Necrons had slept?" The Farseer looked up at the sky where the dawn was slowly creeping up.

"Well, I still have some doubts to the validity of your claims, Farseer. We have yet to see any Necron presence, even among the rocks above. What makes you think that Necrons were there, and that we destroyed the moon for that reason?" The Autarch asked.

"Less than fifty cycles ago, we had recovered a floating debris of a Shadow class cruiser, where we had found many scores of decciated Eldar corpses, but we did find one Spirit Stone still intact. The Iyanden Warlock of that Spirit Stone had revealed to us that he was from this planet, where their Craftworld had set up an outpost in secret and guarded against the presence of the 'humans'. They had discovered a sleeping Necron base, not quite a Tomb World, but still with enough numbers to obliberate a sector."

"I suppose your vaunted Ulthwe Farseers saw something else?"

"Indeed. The Necron base had a energy producing mechanism that would have drained the sun of its energy and send that energy into nearby sleeping Tomb Worlds that could instantly be reactivated by that power. As long as the Necrons were sleeping and no one disturbed them, it would have been the end of it. Yet, the Iyanden were cautious, and their Farseers were correct in how the Mon-Keigh would send someone into that abyssal crack upon the rocky surface of that moon." The Ulthwe's Farseer continued. "The planet was guarded by the Eldar presence, and a fleet was dispatched with a powerful weapon enough to crack apart a moon or a planet. The humans often use such weapons, but we are the Eldar, and for our graceful and enlightened race to use such weapon... it was a horrible truth."

"What is this weapon, exactly? You mention this weapon but I have never heard of it, much less understand it." The Autarch asked.

"I do not know either, but what we now know is that the moon was obliterated into the pieces you see up there, and the Necrons were scattered by their atoms. Yet, the force of the blast was enough to rain down the fallen Eldar ships into the atmosphere of this world."

"And we see the fallen ones, who had died in the sacrifices that they have made in order to destroy the moon. I get that... What I do not understand is why do we care about this weapon now? Surely, it is not about the Swarm... or the humans..." The Biel-Tan Autarch frowned at the mention of 'humans' again.

"It is not a worry about the humans and their crude abilities... They cannot possibly manage to activate such weapon, let alone find it. As for the Swarm, it is not their discovery of this weapon that worries me, but that they may inadvertantly lead the humans to it, and with such important discovery, the Imperium would surely send more forces to this world... only to be consumed by the Zerg that now overrun this world. Given the chance, the Swarm would spread out into the rest of the sector like a wildfire, and would plunge a hundred worlds into darkness that my witch-sight cannot pierce." The Farseer spoke of the visions and courses of fate that she had glimpsed.

"Then we must deny both the Swarm and the humans from finding it."

"It would be better if the Eldar were in possession of such weapon, though its destruction may be the only way... given the situation."

"How bad is the infestation?" The Autarch queried.

"Far grimmer than I had foreseen. These Zerg are strange creatures. They draw in the Warp surrounding them and it is like they are shadowy blobs in the Warp, not like the soulless but not quite like the Necrons either... They are... strange." The Farseer sighed.

"Do we have chance in direct combat?"

"In small incursions, maybe... but I fear that the Mon-Keigh have awakened something. The whole of the Swarm on this world are suddering awake. It will take a few days... but it won't be much longer before we are faced with something terrible."

The Autarch paused. He turned and saw the gathered warriors among the Eldar structures. Four Banshee Exarchs had led the one-hundred strong Howling Banshees, and though such force would have been deadly against even the strongest of opponents, the Eldar were about to face something unlike they have ever faced before. The Zerg were not like the Orks. They could not be so easily disrupted and fooled, and a hundred Banshee that would have cut a long and sharp path toward the Ork Warboss ending the Waaagh! in its tracks only found themselves beset by the prospect of facing a million Zerglings.

The Autarch himself had led a sizeable force of nearly thirty Striking Scorpions, and was supported by equally as numerous Swooping Hawks. They would be of a great value in the fight to come, but both the Farseer and the Autarch knew their traditional tactics and strategies may not be as effective against this new enemy. Twenty Dark Reapers and as many Fire Dragons had stationed themselves across the Eldar compound, their deadly ranged weapon prepared to exact toll on any who invaded their base, and led by the handful of Exarchs, these warriors of Aspect Shrines were ready as ever.

The Farseer had hoped, however, that the sizeable force of Warp Spiders and Dire Avengers would prove a boon in the situation. Numbering nearly fifty, the Warp Spiders led by the enigmatic Exarch Sarokidae of the Bie-Tan Craftworld, whose demeanor indicated that he barely followed orders of an Ulthwe Farseer, and only did so out of respect for the Biel-Tan Autarch. Yet, such was of little concern when their very survival was depended on the courage and desperation of the Eldar warriors. In that, Seyeris found the support in the Exarch Ahrae Zir of the Dire Avengers. Ahrae Zir and his six fellow Exarchs declared their devotion to the current cause, and much to the delight of the Farseer and the Autarch, reigned in Sarokidae. Numbering nearly three hundred within the Eldar basecamp and another hundred spread out among the outposts, Ahrae Zir commanded more manpower than anyone except the Warlock Hevandras Ro of Ulthwe.

In this current venture, the Craftworld of Ulthwe invested a large number of is famous militia, and Farseer Seyeris was granted a small retinue of a nine Warlocks and nearly seven hundred Black Guardians and thirty heavy weapons on Grav Platforms. Four Warlocks formed Seyeris' bodyguards while the remaining five Warlocks, led by Hevandras Ro, commanded the Guardian forces as well as many vehicles brought forth from the two Craftworlds. Had it been mostly infantry-force, the Eldar would not have dared to challenge the Zerg, but they also commanded a small but powerful vehicles and walkers of their race. The Bie-Tan Craftworld had provided three Wraith lords, two ten-men squads of Windriders and two Falcons, while the Ulthwe Craftworld had sent two Fire Prisms, five Wraithguards, a squadron of Nightwing fighters.

Although there were several smaller groups that the Eldar forces have sent out into the wilderness of this world, the main military force of the Eldar presence on this world was here in the base. Yet, despite such sizeable force, neither the Autarch nor the Farseer thought that they could win this war by means of martial strength.

"If what you say is true, we do not have the strength of arms to oppose them... We will need a bit more of your Ulthwe cunning and deception." Autarch stated.

"Both my cunning and your strength will be called for... For now... we shall use the Mon-Keigh to delay the Swarm. If our worst vision comes true, then we may even have to allow the humans to use their crude virus weapon to cleanse this world of the Zerg."

"Very well..."

* * *

><p><strong>954.739.M41<br>High Orbit  
>Crimson Knights Strike Cruiser '<strong>**_Paladin's Blade_****'**

"Apothecary! Attend!" The Librarian roared as he stepped off the ramp of the Crimson Knight Thunderhawk.

Beside the crimson-colored Thunderhawk, the black painted Thunderhawk 'Deathbringer' of the Inquisitor Hadrian also lowered its ramp. There Crimson Knights and Inquisitorial Stormtroopers carefully yet swiftly delivered the grievously wounded forms of fallen Space Marines.

Two Apothecaries of the Crimson Knight chapter hurried to the docking bay along with nearly thirty medical servitors to aid in menial works.

"Apothecary de Guillion, we have many wounded, and some are critical. We have recovered and brought back the bodies of those who have given their lives for the Emperor yet we do have those who may still be saved." The Librarian explained.

"We shall commit most stringent triage, Brother Librarian. None who could be saved would be lost." The older, helmet-less Apothecary answered.

"I have a man who is in critical condition, apothecary. His wounds are critical. If you could attend to him as soon as you can, I shall be grateful." Hadrian spoke up.

de Guillion paused and looked at the Inquisitor.

"Inquisitor, lead me to him, and I shall attend to his needs."

"Thank you, apothecary."

While the younger Apothecary attended others, whose injuries, although certainly severe, were not as critical as that of the handful who faced off against the Reaver.

"A Chaplain... of the Ultramarines?"

"Seconded to the Deathwatch, and under my jurisdiction. He has served the God Emperor faithfully for many centuries, Apothecary. He is a veteran even among his peers, and I would hate to lose him for something as trivial as this flesh wound." The Inquisitor commented, his tone betraying his concern for his brother-in-arms.

The Apothecary looked over the wound while cauterizing several spots that not even Larraman's Organ could staunch in time.

"The damage is extensive. He would need a replacement for this arm, but given how his muscles are torn, I believe he would not be missed in combat in due time. See how the muscles here are torn outward? Given the technology and experties in limb-replacement I have gained since the near-destruction of our Chapter, I will be able to help him." The Apothecary commented, at which Hadrian nodded gratefully.

"So, he would not be crippled?" The voice of Captain Titus was heard from the gurney he was lying in.

The Apothecary turned, and looked at the chart that the Medical Scanning Servitor had handed to him.

"Your wounds are actually more severe. Several of your implants are bruised and your ribs and spine show minor fractures. However..."

Hadrian raised an eyebrow.

"However?"

"Your cells are regenerating at an accelerated speed. This is a rare phenomenon. Only about a hundred cases of such cellular regeneration have been reported among the proud and pure sons of Guilliman in the last millennia, and given how most of them have died before their natural end..." The Apothecary paused once more as he peered at the data slate.

"Dispense with your scientific conjecture, Apothecary. How long will it be before I am recovered enough to return to battle?" Titus asked impatiently.

"Given the rate of cellular regeneration, you should be given enough nutrition for minimum of twenty-four hours before you are combat-capable. Your bones should mend within fourteen hours but the bruises to your spinal column and your implants will need more time. However, a good new would be that your body is producing extra amount of testosterone, all three types of Ossmodulean hormones and Biscopic hormone type one and two. In time, you would actually come out of this stronger than before..." The Apothecary answered with curious gleam in his eyes.

"Never mind that for now, Apothecary. We need others who need your attention." Hadrian said.

"Of course... Excuse me."

As the Apothecary attended to others, the surviving members of the battle gathered together. Hadrian and Kolonnes, and Terminator Sergeant Henri de Arignon formed a circule around the lying form of Titus, whose body may be injured but his tactical expertise was still needed.

"What is our situation?" Hadrian asked.

"I have lost many members of my squad, and others squads have suffered nearly 50% loss of combat power. Although I can replace the missing number of my Terminators with the Assault Terminators of the Squad de Callie, we would still be nine Terminators instead of fourteen that we started out with." Henri answered first. "These Ultralisks were quite heavy in their combat prowess, enough to cause trouble for us. However, I am concerned by the fact that they seem to be weaker and smaller than your previous reports."

Hadrian agreed, but it was Titus who answered.

"I believe it may be that you have fought Ultralisks that were not fully grown. They were most certainly smaller than the ones I have witnessed in previous engagement, and I would hazard to guess even the larger ones that I have seen could grow even larger." The Ultramarine captain surmised.

"That would be problematic. Given the lack of proper armored firepower, we cannot deal with multitude of fully grown Ultralisks without severe loss. Even with our extra Devastator capacity here, it would cause significant problems." Kolonnes commented with a grim expression on his face.

"We need more armors. Even Leman Russ tanks could be worth every credit we pay for them." Henri agreed.

Titus paused. He momentarily wished he could be with his Chapter and Company in full strength. Given the two Predator Annihilators and the two powerful Dreadnought along with his own Sergeants, he could have driven these xenos off the planet, but he was no longer with him. He was now Captain in name only. He was a Pretender to that title, for it was now solely in the hands of Cato Sicarius.

"What armors do you have, Crimson Knight?" Hadrian asked the two members of the Crimson Knights.

"We were in a hurry and much of our Chapter's attention was on our other crusades... We barely have a Predator Annihilator, two Razorbacks, two Landspeeders and a Vindicator that is still under repair." The Librarian replied.

"Given the propensity of our enemy to bring the fight in great numbers, we need more. I have a Predator Destructor, Leman Russ Exterminator and Punisher. However, given their weapons loadout, they can help with the lesser creatures and not the Ultralisks that we are now concerned of." Hadrian gritted his teeth.

"Given the manpower we have here, I do not think we can oppose our enemies simply with our valor, Inquisitor." Henri was mentioning how small a military force it was that now dedicate themselves to the defense of this world against the Zerg, and not to the loyality to the almost-heretical Governor Militant.

"How many Space Marines can you field, Sergeant?" Titus asked.

"Given the report I just received from the Apothecarion aboard the vessel, we are now down to nine Terminators. We also maintain twenty six Tactical Marines, one full squads of Devastators with extra heavy weapons, and seven Assault Marines. Although Brother Gaston has taken damage, our Brother Techmarine assures me that he would be back in fighting shape in few hours. Aside from the two Apothecaries, the captain of this vessel, the Techmarine and the pilots of the armored vehicles and the Thunderhawk... Forty-three in full Space Marines Power Armor and nine in Terminator Armor, and fifteen Initiates."

"That is not a small number of Astartes, Sergeant." Titus raised an eyebrow.

"Perhaps... but given the size of the frontline, it is far too short."

Everyone fell silent at the puzzling words of the Terminator Sergeant. Then Hadrian clapped his hands in understanding.

"You are concerned about the Governor Militant... this General Vegin who now reside in the Rugale Fortress with his large number of armored vehicles. You think he would betray us?" The Inquisitor asked.

Henri nodded.

"You are an Inquisitor. I'm sure you have seen such terrible betrayals of the Emperor."

"I have indeed... and I did expect something like this since I've met with the commanders on the ground. At least we can rely on their support, diminished as their forces may be." Hadrian nodded as he scratched his beard.

"What good... What is it, Initiate?" Kolonnes was about to speak before he turned to the Scout who came up to them in serious and grim face.

"Lord Librarian... We cannot find the body of the Silent One... There is no body. We only found the Banner."

Everyone turned. They knew that the Silent One, a true ancient of the Chapter, was missing. However, they had all thought him critically wounded and was lost amid the chaos of that battle. Perhaps he was swallowed up by the waves of enemies, and given the beating by the Reaver, he could easily have fallen down some cave somewhere on the hill and was fighting desperate battle. They all thought to recover him soon enough, for the Chapter Banner was equipped with powerful technologies, one of which allowed the Chapter to locate it. Given how the Standard Bearer never left the banner, they had sent a squad of Scouts to track him down to recover his wounded body or even his corpse so that his gene-seed maybe recovered if such unlikely tragedy have struck the chapter.

"Is... Is he alive?" The stunned Librarian stammered the question.

"The Banner stands tall, but we found no trace of him." The Scout answered.

"Where is your Sergeant, Initiate?" Henri asked, also with grimace.

"Sergeant de Compte seeks what trails may be left..."

Henri turned to look at Kolonnes. Kolonnes paused then shook his head. Henri gritted his teeth, but not at the Librarian but at the Zerg.

"He is alive, then he will return to us. Recall your squad. We are regrouping." Kolonnes replied to the Scout.

"Yes, Lord Librarian."

Kolonnes turned back to the council of war. Titus frowned a little. It was clearly something he had missed. There was no Chapter among the Emperor's Finest who would abandon a Chapter Ancient this way. A Standard Bearer was a face of the Chapter, and such warrior would be sorely missed.

"Is it me, or did you just order your men from searching for the Silent One?" Titus asked, and he noticed how Henri and Kolonnes suddenly gained a darkness on their face.

"It is a source of shame for them, Titus. I would not ask further of it." Hadrian answered instead.

There was something going on that Hadrian clearly had a knowledge of. Then Kolonnes sighed.

"Though the Silent One is a warrior of unparalleled skill and his past deeds have been so great as to merit his position as the Standard Bearer, the sin upon his house is equally as great. His own sins compounded by the sins of his bloodline does not grant him the privilege of fervored search for his person. Perhaps we would look for his armor and weapons if, or when, he is dead, and if found alive and requiring extraction, we shall do so... However, we cannot sanction such search that would be a strain on our already depleted manpower." The Librarian answered Titus with such finality in his tone that Titus nodded.

"In any case, this does not bode well for us." Henri interjected, though he too was uncomfortable talking about the Silent One.

"No..." Titus agreed.

Hadrian sat himself down on an ammo crate. He closed his eyes and paused.

"What are you thinking, Inquisitor?"

"I think it is about time that we visited the Governor Militant, General Vegin... one last time."

There was a hint of violence in his voice.

* * *

><p><strong>954.739.M41<br>Zerg Primary Hive Cluster**

The avatar of Volran shimmered back into existence among the structures of the Zerg Hive. Thick Creep covered every inch of the ground, and thousands of Drones and Zerglings moved about in seemingly-chaotic streams. Yet, they were in perfect synchronicity of it all. Thousands of Overlords roamed overhead, making an overlap of control while the Queen busied themselves tending to the Hive structures that dotted the landscape.

Volran stood there, silent and brooding. His gaze staring far out into the empty sky. Then something else appeared. The avatar of the Overmind slinked into existence in front of Volran, rising into a massive humanoid form.

Volran knelt down in front of it, and bowed his head.

"Overmind."

-**I was hoping that we could talk.**-

Volran's eyes twinkled.

"As you wish."

-**Come, let us take a stroll... like how humans do...**-

The two avatars moved slowly, walking through the endless purple and brown.

-**You have questions, and many of them.**-

"Yes, Overmind."

-**Ask.**-

Volran turned his head to look at the Overmind.

"You would answer me truly?"

-**Perhaps. It would be up to you to trust in my answer.**- The Overmind replied quizzically.

"It was you who deleted the memory of the Hiveseer and the Leviathan, was it not?"

That question had been brewing deep within Volran's mind. It was the important question to Volran. Given the confirmation that Eldar was here on this planet, the question was seemingly non-sensical. However, to Volran, it was the key to the rest of the story.

-**Yes... It was I who have committed such deletion of memory. Not even the Eldar could do such thing. Only I could have precisely removed those memories of meeting the Eldar. I was hoping that I had removed it all, but apparently I have missed a little, given my hurry to put my plans in place.**-

There was a momentary pause.

"Why? Why have you deceived me so? I saw how the 'Ultralisks' that I have sensed were in fact some sort of dwarfed versions of the real ones. It is as if you wanted the Eldar and the humans alive. I suppose even the distress call from this 'lost brood' was but a ruse to whatever end you saw fit."

The avatar of the Overmind nodded.

-**Indeed, it was so, Volran. The enlarged Pygalisks were used as a test of their viability also. Yet, I have good reasons for all of it. Will you hear me out?**-

Volran nodded, for he knew that listening to the Overmind was not a choice as much as the Overmind pretended it was.

-**When the Leviathan first encountered the Eldar fleet, it was not entirely in accident. I wished to test the Leviathan against a small Eldar fleet. The battle was short but intense. Ship to ship, the Leviathan simply had too many escorts for a handful of Eldar ships to handle. Their hulls were torn and their engines fluttered their last. Yet, the Eldar could not so easily be defeated. They teleported into the belly of the Leviathan and attempted to slay the hibernating Hiveseer within.**-

As the Overmind explained, Volran could see the scene before his eyes. He saw two dozen Howling Banshees weaving back and forth among the internal organs of the Leviathan as they slew the hapless Zerglings and Hydralisks. A handful of Dark Reapers blew apart Roaches that attempted to shield the Hiveseer with their bodies. Then within that Chaos, a Biel-tan Warlock strode forth and plunged his blade into the Hiveseer even as the creature attempted strike at the Eldar psyker with its tentacles and its own psionic attacks.

-**In that moment, the Eldar had stolen much knowledge stored within the Hiveseer. They now knew what to call us and rudimentary understanding of different creatures within the Swarm. It was also in that moment that I accessed some of the memories of that Warlock.**-

"Thus you've found this world. For what purpose?" Volran asked.

-**I found that this world has Imperial presence, before and now. Now, it is nothing but a mere test of my Zerg's martial strength against the Imperial Guards, but in the past, this world held in secret a weapon far more dangerous than expected.**-

"A weapon?"

-**You have heard of Exterminatus.**-

Volran nodded.

"I believe it is a method of denial by the Imperium on worlds where they cannot win back with military strength alone. They would cause the world to become uninhabitable so as to deny it to their enemies."

-**Exactly. This world contains a number of Life-Eater Virus Bombs, used by the Imperium to wipe out all life on a world they deem too infested with the influences of their enemies. The virus exponentially grows at an incredible rate by consuming all organic materials on that world. It is a terrible thing, particularly for a species as ours.**-

"What does that have to do anything with deceiving me?" Volran asked.

-**I could not risk the Eldar taking another glimpse of my plans to acquire this weapon for the Zerg, as I believe they can pierce through your thoughts even with such distances between your avatar and your body and your soul. I am working to fix this inherent problem that the Eldar seem very natural at exploiting, although the nature of our psionic network does pose some serious insecurities against a pinpoint strike by an Eldar psyker.**-

Volran considered the words of the Overmind.

"You now have revealed these facts to me, Overmind, does this mean that you no longer worry of Eldar's attacks?"

-**Not as such. Thanks to your trap, I have managed to track the Eldar movements. I now know their base of operation in the southern pole of this world, and that they have deployed their forces across several locations.**-

"They are not here to guard the Virus Bomb?" Volran asked, curious as to why the Eldar had spread out.

-**Very acute, Volran. They seem to be searching for something. I can only assume it is of great value to them. Direct some of your newly gained forces here to intercept these marauding Eldar forces and take what they seek before they find it.**-

Volran understood. Overmind did not know the location of the Virus Bombs, and even if he did, there was possibility that it may not be accessible with what force or what power the Zerg commanded on this remote world.

"You seek to bargain with the Eldar. You would open a line of communication with them? That would be the first."

-**Indeed. It may as well come to it that I choose the Eldar as the first species in this galaxy to communicate with. I was hoping to put a delay on that until I was assured of our positions across the galaxy. Knowing how Imperium would balk at the idea of communicating with us, I can only assume that it would be either the Eldar or the Tau who would be willing to talk. However, this is neither the circumstance nor the timing for communication that I have wanted.**-

Overmind's avatar paused as it looked around. All around them the Zerg were being awakened from their primitiveness. The basic Zerglings that had made up the bulk of the forces on this world were shuddering and screaming as their bodies changed. Wings grew, and their leg muscles spasmed to greater efficiency and speed. Their eyes gleamed with newly gained intelligence.

"You have committed some upgrades."

-**The Zerg that our enemies have encountered so far have been the utterly un-upgraded versions. I would not want to them to think any less of us because that. I have granted this Hive to access the next tier of evolution. You have access to options and pathways unavailable to you before now.**-

With that word, Volran felt his sense connect to the Hive Cluster on this world and finally he was in command of forces here. It was utterly different feeling than before, when he was forced to relay his command through the crippled Hiveseer, which did what it could do follow his command. Now it felt more like back in his own Brood. He had access to everything.

"I shall destroy them, Overmind."

-**Destroying them is a given task, Volran. However, your primary goal is to find out where the Virus Bombs are... no matter the method or losses.**-

"As you command."

Overmind's avatar smiled as it dissipated, and Volran turned to face the Swarm. He was now satisfied.

"I command you now."

Every manner of Zerg creatures roared in reply. Volran breathed the information.

"We now have enough resources. Divert one hundred Drones to new clearings for additional Hatcheries. Morph more Spawning Pools, Baneling Nests and Ultralisk Caverns. We are foregoing the air units given their strong anti-air defenses, and we are holding back Roachs for now. Their slow movements and the reinforced grounds near enemy structures reduces the effectiveness of the Roaches." Volran commanded to the Hive directly, and they instantly obeyed.

He continued to make changes.

"Hydralisks are to be used in anti-air capacity. Remove Muscular Augments and Adrenaline Overload. We do not need faster moving Hydralisks. Reroute those mutations to Ancillary Carapace and Grooved Spines and add Tunnelling Claws and Regeneration Booster. I want those Hydralisks to have long ranged attacks to counter enemy's Valkyries."

The Hydralisk Dens across the Hive Clusters began to pulsate, changing the DNA of the Hydralisks for the future spawn and it would be merely matter of time before the pheromones from these structures would trigger mutation within existing Hydralisks too.

"I want more Nydus Networks set up. At least twenty to be able to reach behind enemy lines. I want to pour out Zerglings and Banelings from behind the enemy even as my Ultralisks assault the front."

Finally, he turned to the Ultralisks who were standing around looking at him.

"Ultralisks... We do not have the resources to remold them as I did with my personal Brood, but some enhancements are needed. Chinitous Plating is a given, and add the Steroid Boost for greater constitution and strength. If we have enough resources, it would be good to add Posthumous Broodlings."

With his order given, he now gave a thought to the Eldar.

"Now, let's see... Where are these Eldar bands away from the safety of their base camp? Ah! There is one nearby."

Volran turned to a group of very powerful units assembled by merest thought he had.

"Let's see... a Warlock leads them, and I think it would only be right if we gave them a true challenge." He turned to the Zerg gathered before him. "Go, and kill every Eldar except for the Warlock. Dismember him, but keep him alive... for now."

The leading Hunter roared and the band of Hunters, Hydralisks, Raptors and Smokers were quickly loaded into the nearest Nydus Network.

"Good... Let's deal with the humans."

* * *

><p><strong>961.739.M41<strong>

**Planetary Capital - Rugale Fortress**

As ever, the night within the Rugale Fortress was fantastical in its view. Streets were lined up with electrical lamp-lights that led straight to the main fortress structure despite the turns and sharp corners. Mazes of military structures disguised as civilian structures dotted the interior forming a layer of narrow choke points all over the city. Across that distance of one narrow street after another was the massive solid form of the Rugale Fort, rising almost three hundred meters vertically, rising at least two hundred meters above the tallest civilian buildings. They also had a hundred-meter wide moat surrounding the fort, and the fort was connected to the city by the three massive drawbridge constructed with all the wisdom and knowledge of the Mechanicus four thousand years ago.

Above all these, a black Thunderhawk flew into the city, landing on one of the landing pads above the Rugale Fort itself. From the Thunderhawk descended the Inquisitor, Librarian Kolonnes, Captain Titus and five Inquisitorial Stormtroopers armed with Hotshot Lasguns led by a Sergeant with Chainsworld and Bolt Pistol. They were not greeted by a lone servant.

"This is a trap." Kolonnes mused.

"The moment I landed, I have sensed it thus also, Librarian." Hadrian nodded even as Titus gripped his Power Sword's hilt tightly.

They were led indoors where the massive circular chamber was decorated with various Imperial saints.

"This place is much more messier than it was the last time I came here." Hadrian commented to the approaching General Vegin, the Governor Militant of the planet.

Indeed, the chamber was littered with large crates. They were metallic crates usually employed to contain Lasguns and munitions or supplies. They were tough things easily capable to taking a dozen Lasgun shots without a problem. It was often the case that front line troops would fill used crates with sand or dirt and used them as makeshift covers when no sandbags were available.

"We were about to ferry some supplies, Inquisitor." The General replied, but there was a hint of mockery in his voice.

"They seem to be surrounding us. It would almost seem like they are defensively located... on purpose." The Inquisitor said as he casually looked at the large number of crates.

"I do not understand what you are implying, Inquisitor. Now, what may I do for you?" The General asked.

"By the name of the Holy God Emperor's Inquisition, I order you to commit all your armored troops to the defense of this world."

The General scoffed.

"I have already done so, Inquisitor."

"Well, that does not seem to be the case here, general. I hardly see Leman Russ tanks out in the front lines, and I made sure of the veracity of such reports by flying over the battlefields. Yet, there are so many tanks within these walls. What would you do with tanks trapped within walls?" Hadrian asked with a smile that threatened with death.

The General's sneer vanished.

"I assure you that I have committed enough armored forces to the front lines."

"If you continue to refuse righteous demands of the Inqusition, I will have no choice but to commandeer all Imperial forces on this world in the name of the Inquisition." Hadrian threatened him for the final time.

"Try it."

In that moment, the dozen-strong household bodyguards of General Vegin, all clad in thick cloaks over their Imperial Guard Flak Armor showed their true colors. The General quickly melted into that crowd of cloaks while the tall soldiers lifted boltguns at the Inquisitor's group.

"I am a psyker, and so is the Librarian beside me. What makes you think that these paltry dozen could even squeeze a shot out?" Hadrian asked the retreating General.

The reply came in the form of at least twenty Stormtroopers coming out of hiding from behind the stacked crates. Most of them had Hotshot Lasguns while several had Flamers and Meltaguns. From the door that the General disappeared came at least four full squads of Guardsmen with Flamers, Plasma Guns and Lasguns. They quickly took cover behind the crates.

"So, it's like that... huh..." Hadrian chuckled darkly.

"I don't think it's funny, Inquisitor." One of the General's household guards said.

"You don't see the funny bit yet." The Inquisitor answered before he and his men disappeared in a flash of brilliant light.

Instead of the Inquisitor and his team, there were grenades teleported right into the middle of it all. A Concussion Grenade of the Deathwatch exploded, sending forth a shockwave that knocked down the household guards and stumbled back several crates. Then Frag Grenades exploded, turning the Vegin's household Guards into minced meat. Immediately afterwards, the door to the hanger bay opened to reveal the Space Marines of the Deathwatch.

Brother Julians of the Novamarines took vanguard position, riding into the chamber with his Jump Pack. He flew into the chamber at incredible speed, thrust of his Jump Pack allowing him to tackle through the three stumbling household guards too wounded to even recognize their own death even as the Chainsword of Brother Julians cleaved through their necks.

Brother Arhaxis of Executioners and Brother Marcus of Aurora Chapter quickly joined the fray, taking the right side of the chamber as they slashed and cut their way through the ranks of traitorous Storm Troopers and Guardsmen. Brother Cyrus of the Blood Ravens took the the left of the room, his Bolt Pistol and Combat Knife making short work of the traitors. His blades were fast and efficient, almost Eldar-like in the graces of its movements. Within moments, the traitors in that chamber were dead, and the Space Marines turned to head into the Fort itself.

"This is Cyrus. The Greetings Chamber of the Hanger Bay three has been cleared. We are moving in." Cyrus spoke into the vox communicator.

-Understood, Sergeant. Make your way down to the main communications hub eleven floors down from there.- Enginseer Machas answered.

"What of the Inquisitor?" Cyrus asked.

-He and his team has been successfully teleported to the location of the traitor general. The Terminators are awaitng deployment at his order.-

"Good."

* * *

><p>"Damn it! What has happened to the Greetings Chamber? Why isn't there any reply?" Vegin shouted to his commanders even as the Servitors put armor on him.<p>

General Vegin's armor was clearly not like anything that Imperial Guards wore. It was a Power Armor of a sort, but not quite like anything that Imperium had seen before. Although it was still bulky, it was relatively lithe and smaller than Astartes Power Armor. The Servitors fitted his left arm with what appeared to be small version of Assault Cannon, and on gave a long and broad Power Sword with single-sided blade and serrated back edge.

"They may be dead, my lord." A captain in thick Carapace Armor replied.

"Take a Stormtrooper squad and four Guardsmen squad to find out what happened, captain." Vegin's second-in-command, Colonel Bolgis growled.

"Yes, colonel."

Vegin turned to Bolgis.

"What do you think?"

"The Inquisitor may try, but he cannot survive. I have ordered the anti-air defenses to watch out for the Thunderhawk. We will shoot it down if he tries to get away in that." The Colonel answered.

"He may be coming after me, you know."

"True, but we have 'them' in our hands."

Vegin chuckled.

"The Mechanicus would drool over them. Who knew that our freedom lay in the depth of this wretched world? When the time is right, we shall seize the power and this whole sector will be ours, free from the tyranny of the Imperium." Vegin chuckled manically.

"Indeed, sir."

"How many do we have on hand now?"

"Just under two hundred, general. Except for those specially made for your person and for your officers." The Colonel answered clinically.

Vegin smiled wide.

"Good. Let my most loyal men to suit up. We shall tear these oppressors from the Imperium and achieve our freedom!"

Vegin turned around to leave, followed by the thirty bodyguards in similar Power Armor as his. Once the general disappeared, the Colonel smiled wicked.

"Yes, you go on ahead. I will just... take my leave with these discoveries."

The Colonel turned to look at the wall where a grey and metallic Power Armor of some sort was buried deep within a rockbed half-excavated. For a moment his eyes glowed in unholy blue glow that crackled into constant changes in shape and size.

"My master shall be pleased."

* * *

><p>General Vegin's Power Armor made such noise as it walked out into the large indoor assembly area where several hundred Guardsmen were standing in attention, their armor painted in strange new livery. They were well-armed too. Instead of their normal Lasguns, they were armed with Hotshot Lasguns, a Laspistol on their belt and a bayonet strapped to their boots. They also wore extra armor upon their usual Flak Armor. Thin slabs of metal plating were added to their armor, the studs where the bolts were rivetted into the armor visible from outside. Still, they would provide much needed protection that a mere Guardsmen was never afforded before.<p>

On the side of the arena were a dozen officers and commissars in chains, guarded by a dozen warriors in similar Power Armor as to the General's bodyguards'.

"The time is upon us! Cast off the shackles of oppression! Let yourselves be free from the Imperium and its decciated and dreadful laws and brainwash! We are free! I have given you power to free yourself! See, how I am armored in technologies not bound by the superstitions of the Mechanicus, who seek to chain technology with their own superstitions! See how my men are clad in such armors that you only thought Space Marines could wear! Do not be fooled!" He roared to the gathered soldiers. "We are free! Cast aside your old foolish faith! Have faith in yourselves! Be righteous in your liberation!"

He then turned to the bound officers and commissars.

"See your jailers! The wardens of your thoughts! They seek only to imprison you in the iron-barred cells of make-belief Emperor and the fear of their guns! No more! We are free! We are FREEMAN! We will have heads of our oppressors! We will have our guns! We will have our tanks! We will have our ships! We will take flight and carve out our own empire among the stars, as it is rightfully ours!" The general screamed louder.

"Bring the prisoners!" One of the traitor officers ordered, and a colonel of the Imperial Guard was brought before the traitor general.

"You will die for this, Vegin." The colonel, beaten up and bruised, spat bloody phlegm to the traitor's boots.

"I think not! I have the power! You are beheaded!"

With that, the Power Sword swung down, slicing off the neck with such ease.

"Witness the end of your oppressors!"

The crowd roared.

It was then that the Inquisitor revealed himself with a thunderous psychic attack.

A schism of terrible psychic power manifested itself as a bolt of lightning that arced through the Power Armored soldiers guarding the prisoners. First few that got struck were cooked instantly, their armor hissing out steams of molten human carcass inside, but others were still alive, their armor somehow protecting them.

"Ah, the Inquisitor. I suspected that you have survived." The traitor general growled.

"Your little insurrection is over. Although I had originally assumed that you have only been an incompetent fool, now I see that you are indeed a traitor." Hadrian answered with burning hate in his eyes.

"You have failed as an Inquisitor. You could not stop my rebellion here, nor could you stop the xeno army. When I drive out the filthy xeno, then this world and dozens of others will recognize our righteousness. You, on the other hand, will die here."

Hadrian frowned a little. He was sure that a man like this would never have the initiative to rebel against the Imperium, fully knowing such insurrection would eventually cause his downfall.

"Who talked you into this rebellion, general? There is no way that you could have come up with something like this on your own." Hadrian asked with a hint of insult.

"How dare you! This is my plan! My design! I will be the emperor of Riax and beyond!" The general foamed in rage.

"I'm sure that the Zerg would not have the wits or the intention to make a deal with you, and I have yet to see any signs of Chaos intervention. Ah... but there is someone else. Did the Eldar promise you protection? Did they want something in return?" The Inquisitor asked sharply, and he could not help notice, even in that distance, how the general flinched at the mention of Eldar. "Of course, the Eldar would do such things. They are deceptive race who plays the mankind as if we are their toys and tools. They have used you to weaken our fight against the Zerg, the purpose of which I cannot be sure of..."

Hadrian pondered for a second when the traitor general screamed in defiance.

"LIES! We fight so that we may be free of the unending, stifling, suffocating tyranny of the Imperium and its rotten Corpse Emperor!"

"Corpse Emperor? That's strange... that's not the wording Eldar use..." Kolonnes muttered.

"No... It isn't..." Titus agreed.

"Well, we will find out when we rip it from his mind." Hadrian growled, his questions answered to a degree.

That finally ended the talks.

"Kill them! They are your oppressors! Tear their flesh apart! In their blood, you shall find your FREEDOM!" The general screamed piercingly.

Hundreds of guns were turned at the Inquisitor and his small team. Hadrian had expected such turn of events however, and he had prepared himself and his team for it. The Rosarius that hung on Hadrian's belt glowed into action. It formed a large hemisphere of powerful field that blocked every attack that the traitors poured upon them within the first few moments. Yet, it did not hinder the attacks from inside.

Captain Titus wielded his Master-Crafted Bolter with utmost accuracy as he fired his bolter in terrible sniping shots. Single shots from his bolter shattered skulls and heads with ease, and he did not waste his munition. Kolonnes had re-equipped himself with a Stormbolter and a Force Staff and he let loose both bolts and rolling waves of psychic flames. The Inquisitor fired off his pair of Bolt Pistols, having his previous set of weapons being repaired aboard his vessel. Behind them, the Inquisitorial Storm Troopers kept their own firepower trained on the traitors killing them from behind the safety of the Rosarius' Conversion Field.

Then even as the powerful Conversion Field generator began to lose its charge, Kolonnes sent forth a powerful wave of telekinesis that shoved apart the ranks of traitors into a chaotic mess.

"_Paladin's Blade_, teleport NOW!"

With a brilliant flash and stench of acrid smell of ozone, nine Terminators of the Crimson Knights appeared in all their crimson splendor and they proceeded to wipe out the traitors. Bolters fired, Assault Cannons mowed down the pathetic traitors as their flesh were torn into pieces by the explosive bolt shells and solid slugs thrown at them at incredible velocity and numbers. The Assault Terminators formerly of de Callie weaved through the Storm Troopers randomly firing Hotshot Lasguns, Plasma Guns and Meltaguns. Their Lightning Claws cut through the traitors and their pitiful excuse for personal armor, while the Thunder Hammer shattered their bones and exploded their flesh. One of the Terminators faltered for a moment when he was blasted by a Meltagun, but the power of the Meltagun, as formidable as it was, could not match the crackling power of a Storm Shield at full power, though the edges of the shield frayed a little. The offending traitor was quickly dispatched with when the Terminator split the Storm Trooper with his Power Axe in a singular motion.

With the pressure off them once the Terminators were in play, Hadrian turned to Titus and Kolonnes.

"We chase the traitor. We extract from him every piece of knowledge we need. This means, he needs to be alive."

"I shall make path." Titus grimly nodded.

"He is fleeing. His escape is covered by those in Power Armors." Kolonnes commented as the three marched through the fighting as if they were taking a stroll.

* * *

><p>"Have a squad block them here. We shall reassemble at the Court of Tulips." The Governor Militant ordered as he put his helmet back on.<p>

He looked strange with two red glow replacing his eyes. His mask had been carefully carved to feature his face, albeit a more artistically dramatized one. His armor was not as bulky as that of Adeptus Astartes. It was actually one of the ancient Power Armors that his followers have discovered in the depth of the fort's underground caverns. It was one of the two that were hidden in that secret vault of the former owner, the rogue Magos who ruled these worlds many millennia ago. The Governor Militant took the more intact one and had his own rogue Enginseers to repair it. Though he had once briefly wondered where those rogue members of Mechanicus had come from, his mind quickly forgot such detail over the dream of his dark glory. He had his rogue Enginseers to copy the more broken armor stuck in some sort of stone to make many such armors so as to equip his armies.

He had much resources. In the dark vault of the rogue Magos' laboratories, he had found many secrets. He knew that with those secrets he could build an army utterly loyal to him, assemble ships at such rate that he could cover the sky within mere decades, and form troops clad in Power Armor and deadly weapons. He could make himself the ruler of a dozen systems before the Imperium could even lift a finger. Yet, the time was not his to arise. The xeno threat, the Zerg, had foiled his plan from top to bottom. Not even the assurances of the Eldar, relayed to him by his second-in-command, could assuage his fears.

"Have the men prepare the elevator. Gather my personal guards there." The traitor lord commanded to one of his bodyguards clad in Power Armor decorated with silver and tiny bits of gold.

Vegin knew that his gold-coated Power Armor was noticeable but he wanted show off, and he had clad his bodyguards in silver too, though beneath the decorations were a thin layer of adamantium, followed by ceramite-titanium alloy. Although it did not have the same level of metallic polarization as that of proper Power Armors worn by the Astartes, it would still be strong enough.

The four grav-shuttles finally stopped and he got off and walked down to the Court of Tulip, another assembly area in the shape of a giant tulip flower with the gate to the giant passage corridor on the other side. Inside the court were scores of his men in Power Armor. These were some of his personal troopers now clad in the inferior Power Armor, but they were still more powerful than an entire company of Guardsmen.

"Men! Time for war! Our enemies shall come from that passage. Destroy them!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Vegin smiled. It was all thanks to another one of the technologies he had found. Mind-Imprint was such technology that allowed the rogue Magos to control so many and command such armies. It was now his. These warriors were utterly loyal to Vegin alone and would never shake in their loyalty. That was the reason that he had clad them in such mighty armor and armed them with powerful weapons. These soldiers were clad in blackened steel colors with the purple and white liveries of Vegin's household visible in places. Their bulk was smaller even than the armors of Vegin's bodyguards, which had meant even less protection.

As for the lack of firepower, Vegin had used yet another discovery of ancient technology from the laboratories to prepare for the insurrection. That result was already within the Court of Tulip.

"Have a dozen Gun-Suits ready to unleash death, and bring the rest to the Hall of Covenant."

"Yes, lord."

From the edges of the indoor courtyard moved forward three dozen walkers. They were little taller than a Space Marine Terminator but very boxy and crude. They were more like large metal coffins with two rigid legs a pair of arms as rigid and crude as the legs. There was no auto-sense, forcing the driver to see through a tiny slit in the coffin-like cockpit. The huge promethium engine almost toppling the machine had it not been for the clumsy large feet. However, it was heavily armed. Their right arms were fitted with triple-barreled minigun with a belt feed ammunition line while their left arms were given other heavy weapons. When a dozen of them gathered to form a line there were four Heavy Bolters, three Grenade Launchers, two Missile Launchers, two Autocannons and a Heavy Flamer assembled behind the ranks of thirty Power Armored soldiers armed with Bolters, Heavy Stubbers and some melee weapons.

Seeing his men ready, the traitor general left through the golden gate down the long corridor to his next location.

* * *

><p>The corridor was long, and their query had used some sort of transport to get ahead of them. Yet, the Inquisitor was not overly worried. He had plans of his own in place. Instead of worry about the fleeing enemy, he calmly cut down the traitor warrior in crude Power Armor. Though impressive against mere Guardsmen, it was no match against Power Weapons and true Power Armor. The enemy had some Bolters, but most of them were armed with Heavy Stubbers, that could not pierce the Artificer Armors that the three elite warriors of Imperium were wearing.<p>

Titus, too, enjoyed himself in dealing with enemies that he was familiar with than the Zerg. The Zerg were hard enemies to read. Perhaps if he had spent more time with the Ordo Xenos and learned more about their strange ways he would find it no longer strange, but for now, he was glad to be cutting humanoid enemies. His Power Sword slid easily through the ceramite-coated armor. It was clear that the ceramite used in the construction of the enemy's armor was very little. It was barely a paintjob.

"Inquisitor, I've found some grav-shuttles. It is already programmed to a place called the Court of Tulip."

It was not long before they found other grav-shuttles.

"Wait... I sense danger... Enemies are there." Kolonnes stopped them even as they got off the shuttles.

Carefully, Kolonnes walked forward to peer down the long staircase down to the Court of Tulip. It was only the quick jerk back by Titus that he did not gain a bullet to his helmet. Bullets raked across the ceiling as the enemy fired off their guns at the appearance of the Astartes.

"Now that's just rude." Kolonnes chuckled darkly.

"Perhaps, we can call in a little reinforcement." Titus commented, referring to the powerful Teleportarium aboard the Crimson Knights' Strike Cruiser.

Hadrian nodded.

"_Paladin's Blade_ do you have a squad for me?"

-Assault squad de Dufour is ready for deployment.-

"I need them behind the enemy line."

-Understood.-

The teleport was successful, and with most of the squad mates in correct position. Sergeant de Dufour went to work immediately, destroying the promethium reactor with his Power Sword then firing his Plasma Pistol into the back of another walker. The rest of his squad went to work, throwing Krak Grenades at other walkers. It was into this fray that the Inquisitor, the Librarian and the Ultramarine entered.

Like men possessed, they cut a swath into the ranks of traitors, and it was mere moments before the enemy fell and were no more.

"They were fragile, yet would have stood well against Guardsmen. In great numbers, they could be a threat." Titus mentioned as he drove his Power Sword into the head of a traitor in armor.

"You may be right, Captain." Kolonnes agreed before turning to Hadrian, who was interrogating a prisoner. "Is it done, Inquisitor?"

Suddenly, the man Hadrian was holding up in the air with telekinesis screamed and the mortal's head exploded backwards.

"We go through that gate. The traitor general will make his final stand there, I think." Hadrian said.

"We shall assist in clearing out the rabbles." Sergeant de Dufour saluted.

"I shall be grateful for your assistance, sergeant."

* * *

><p>"Yet again, he escapes my grasp." Hadrian commented as he chucked away another dead traitor with exploded head.<p>

All around them, the corpses and broken walkers of the traitors lay strewn about. The Assault Squad of the Crimson Knights finished off any who did not die immediate deaths.

"This traitor seem quite illusive, and our loose grasp of this fortress does make it that much harder." Kolonnes agreed.

"I wonder what is happening with Captain Titus." Hadrian said as he peered down the black chasm of the elevator shaft.

In the fight, Titus had decided to chase the traitor general just as the elevator left the podium. He charged through the gate barring the shaft and jumped down into the darkness.

"We are ready, Inquisitor. Shall I descend to aid Captain Titus?" Sergeant de Dufour asked as his Assault Marines checked for the fuel levels of their Jump Packs.

Hadrian paused.

"I have men in place, sergeant. I believe that Captain Titus will have all the aid he needs when time comes. We must now take control of this fortress and weed out any and all traitors among the Guardsmen." The Inquisitor replied with a vicious smile.

* * *

><p>"Stop him!" The traitor general screamed in desperation.<p>

Titus smiled darkly as he kicked yet another traitor in armor, sending the enemy sprawling across the floor. Before he could finish off the enemy with a shot of his Bolter, another armored soldier lunged at his left arm and grasped it with his entire body. The Power Sword in his right hand plunged into the belly of that man, but it left Titus vulnerable for a second and a long knife coated in thin paint of adamantium was thrust toward the gap between his helmet and the body. However, Titus was a veteran of countless battles. With but a tiny jerk of his shoulder, the blade struck the edge of his right pauldron before Titus elbowed the offending enemy.

"Die Space Marine!" Another traitor roared as he fired off his Heavy Stubber right into the face of Titus.

The helmet took the brunt of the attack, one of the bullets even making a small crack on his left eye visor. Knowing that there were some weaknesses in such parts, Titus turned his head slightly and then hefted the dying enemy still clinging to his left arm into the path of the bullet, letting the lesser armored man take the bullets. The shooter stopped for a moment, but Titus had already freed his left hand and he squeezed off two shots from his bolter.

"Now, you have much to answer for, traitor." Titus growled as he finally cut off the head of the last traitor-in-armor.

Without his bodyguards, the general seemed very vulnerable. Yet, he was not done fighting.

"Come then, Space Marine! I will show you the might of this powerful and ancient armor!" The traitor cackled.

The suspiciously large forearm of the general's left arm opened up to reveal the minigun and even as it spun, Titus quickly charged forward. Bullets shattered against the shoulder pauldron just before Titus' Power Sword cut through the barrel of the gun. The general quickly responded by slashing at the Ultramarine with his own Power Sword, only to be blocked by someone else.

From the shadows appeared the Epistolary Harax and Brother Iscansis, their weapons drawn. It was the Harax who had grasped the arm of the traitor general even as it was raised. With his inhuman strength, the armor cracked as the Librarian squeezed.

"Captain Titus." Harax saluted.

"Epistolary... it is a suprise." Titus answered.

Even as Brother Iscansis knocked out the traitor general and bound him, the Dark Angel and the Ultramarine spoke.

"As per orders of the Inquisitor, I have been searching this fortress from top to bottom. I have found many great surprises and dark tidings." Harax said.

"Of the Virus Bombs?" Titus asked.

"We have the location... However, that may be the least of our worries."

"What? What could be more dangerous than Exterminatus-grade Virus Bombs?"

"Ancient archeo-tech that the rogue Magos had dug up all those millennia ago. There were two sets of these ancient Power Armors of unknown origins, technology about cloning and mental imprinting to convert a fully grown clone into a real soldier within moments with a mind of absolute loyalty."

"I do not understand... such technology..." Titus bit his lips.

"This provides much understanding as to how that rogue Magos established such mighty force during his time here. He must have forged an army of clones and imprinted them. Literally factory-made human army, armed and clad in technologies he had found." The Dark Angel psyker stated.

"This is a grim tiding indeed, Epistolary. We should inform... Argh!"

Titus, Harax and Iscansis all screamed as they fell to their knees as incredible pain coursed through their bodies. Iscansis fell first, losing consciousness within moments. As the psyker, Harax could stay awake a little more, enough to see an enemy sliding out from the darkness.

"Traitor... Sorcerer..." Harax whispered before his mental defenses collapsed and he fell.

Titus, however, remained conscious despite the pain he felt.

"Agent of Chaos... You..." Titus stammered as he saw a cadre of Chaos Marines walking toward him.

A being walked toward Titus, and he was a Chaos Marine clad in a Terminator Armor of such opulence that he may as well be a Chaos Lord of high stations. In his hand was a daemonic sword crackling with sorcerous powers. Following him was an Apothecary clad in decorations of blood and skulls and bronze. Led by the two, a Colonel of Imperial Guards and several Enginseers quickly gathered up the fallen traitor general and the dead traitors.

"This one is interesting. He resists my powers. His affinity to the Warp is strange... Not corrupted nor a Pariah, yet such lack of presence... Intriguing." The Chaos Terminator said.

"Kill him and be done with. My axe thirsts for blood, and all blood pleases Khorne. All these schemes and plans sickens me, even though I am tied to you by such bonds." The corrupted Apothecary growled.

"Be patient. You shall have your slaughter soon enough. Now, check the cloning technology."

"I have checked the knowledge. We only need that device. The device is the key. Without it, all the knowledge and theory and calculations are meaningless. Not even the Warpsmiths and the masters of the Dark Mechanicus could replicate such technology without the device itself." The Apothecary explained.

"Good... My time with Ahriman is almost up, and it shall be good to prepare for the time after I am freed from this... servitude." The Chaos Terminator chuckled evily.

"Even in the Warp, your time passes. Lucky that your patrons are strangely generous with you. Otherwise, Ahriman may have counted your service in the 'years' of reality than in the Warp."

"Speak to me not of it. Let us go once it is all done."

"What of these Loyalists?"

"I do not have the luxury to kill them. Let them be... They may prove... useful."

It was in that moment that even Titus fell unconscious.

* * *

><p>END OF CHAPTER 49<p> 


	50. Chapter 50

Sorry for the long delay. My RL has been hectic and creativity isn't a very accessible commodity when you are flat out tired.

Please, be patient with my other stories as they are slowly being written as well.

If you find any grammar or spelling mistakes in this Chapter 50, please leave a comment.

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><p><strong>Chapter 50<strong>

**962.739.M41**

**Unknown Location**

The Silent One groaned as he shook his head. The helmet was compromised just like the rest of the impressive Artificer Armor that he had been gifted with by the Chapter to which he had owed so much. It wasn't serious. There were a couple of holes in the back of the helmet, possibly acid damage around it, perhaps indicating some sort of splatter he had received without realizing it. His chest too had been compromised, with at least four broken pieces of Hydralisk spines were stuck there, and a gash near the abdomen. His left shoulder was stiff, the pauldron having been damaged by the impact of the Reaver's attacks. Even the Polarization Matrix Nodes were damaged in places, segments of his leg armors were weakened too. Left thigh plating were now nothing more than slabs of ceramite, plasteel and a thin layer of adamantium.

He paused as he looked around. His Master-Crafted Power Sword was still nearby, though not in his hand. The thickly bound wire wrapped in overlapped rings of plasteel added with a hint of adamantium that still powered the blade was still as sharp as ever. The left hand, however, was missing something important. The banner of the Chapter was missing from his body. He knew it as a great shame for a Standard Bearer to lose the important artifact, but he could not find it. His eyes now took in the surroundings, his visor scanning the environment with accuracy unseen in helmets of lesser make.

He was lying inside some sort of massive arena, if the Swarm had such concept. The ground was flat and firm and the walls were thickly wound with muscles and sinew, covered in carapace. The place was huge, and the only source of light was a hole at least fifty meters straight up. It was a small hole, and tiny crystals around the anus-like pucker glittered to shine the light around the arena. There were four other entrances, and they were up on the wall about half way up the wall on four sides of the arena. He was lying not far from one such opening. He must have fallen through one. Around him was other debris of war. He saw at least a dozen corpses of Guardsmen and a couple of Stormtroopers. Their weapons and armor were dumped along with them as if they were not of any concern for the Zerg.

The Silent One knew he needed another weapon. He looked around. He saw a Hell Pistol in the hand of a Stormtrooper Sergeant, but he ignored it. He grabbed the Hellgun instead, and broke the trigger guard so that he could fit his thick finger through. He retrieved the Power Sword and it felt comfortable in his hand. Suddenly, he heard something. It felt like the whole chamber was vibrating and pulsating. Then from the hole on the far side came out a vomit of object swept up in dark green goo. He stood up despite the groaning and protesting armor. The power level was still acceptable and he carefully placed his finger on the triggering mechanism of the blade. His eyes now saw that the new additions were indeed more debris of battle. He did not know what the Zerg wanted with it all, but he saw pieces of his battle brothers, a leg still clad in armor severed just above the knee. He also tracked several Zerg creatures amid that chaotic dump.

There was a Hydralisk, but it was not a corpse nor was it wounded. It was a deformed creature. It looked almost normal except its lopsided head. Its left jaw was enlarged enough for the creature to tilt its head. It growled as if it was blind or stunned. The Silent One knew what he had to do. The xeno creature was alive. It must die. He walked toward it at such pace that no creature clad in such bulky armor could possibly endure unless it was a Space Marine. The deformed Hydralisk finally recognized the incoming Space Marine. It growled and roared. Then it attempted to fire its spines, but its flaps wouldn't open properly. Only one side opened and even then the spines were not fired at enough velocity to pierce the Artificer Armor

The Silent One was a master swordsman and he could have flickered off spines fired by normal Hydralisk therefore such weak attack by a deformed Hydralisk was nothing against him. His deactivated blade cut through the air and knocked aside the spines before the Hellgun was pointed right at the face of the xeno creature.

Krack! Krack! Krack! Krack!

The Hellgun made an irritating sound as it fired. The first two shots hit the Hydralisk near its right eyebrow, the third shot blinded its right eye, exploding the eyeball with a perfect hit. The last shot blew apart its right jaw, but then the Hellgun died, unable to handle the mistreatment it had suffered while being rolled up in the alien goo along with other paraphernalia. The Silent One did not care. He simply drove the Power Sword crackling in molecular-disruptive field of energy right into the skull of the deformed creature. The creature died instantly as its brain was turned into a mush of gore.

The Silent One threw away the Hellgun, now of no use. He needed a new ranged weapon, and he found one in the new heap of debris. There was a Bolt Pistol in the hand of a dead Commissar whose torso had been cleft in twain by some claw. It still had eight rounds left in the magazine, for which the Silent One gave a prayer of gratitude to the God Emperor and the Primarch. It was a mere Garm pattern which was barely adequate in the eyes of an Adeptus Astartes, but it would have to do.

The arena shook again. He turned and saw yet another opening on the wall spit out more debris. More things appeared along with the goo. A terrible scene of dead Guardsmen and broken pieces of Imperial Guard vehicles were noticed, and more Zerg creature, often corpses but all deformed. The Silent One realized that he was in the dumping ground of the Swarm. This was where they dumped everything they did not desire, and probably melt them down with acid. The Silent One almost growled as a Roach and two Zerglings crawled out of that pile of ooze and rubbish.

The Roach was almost flat, as if it was squashed half way through and its neck stretched out improbably. It was a weakness for a Roach, for the strength of a Roach lay in its thick carapace and the short stout neck formed of corded muscle that squeezed out acid. This one was defective. The other two creatures were no better. The first Zergling was blind. It had literally no eyes. Instead, it had two empty holes where eyes should have been. The other Zergling had defective claws and limbs. They were short, far too short to be effective in attacking or in moving around.

There was no hesitation. The Bolt Pistol fired, spitting three rounds into the blind Zergling and shattering the creature like fragile glass sculpture. The other Zergling screamed and tried to come at the Space Marine, only to be skewered by the Power Sword, which then swung in a graceful arc and sliced off the neck of the defective Roach.

"Huh?"

The Silent One turned quickly and saw a lone Guardsman stumbling out from among the debris, shaking his head to clear the fogginess in his brain. He was a Sergeant, for his left hand was tightly gripping the Laspistol while the other hand was holding the broken piece of Chainsword.

"Where am I?" The Guardsman asked to himself only to find the Silent One standing over steaming corpses of Zerg creatures.

The Guardsman Sergeant knelt down immediately.

"My lord, I did not see you there."

Yet, the Silent One was silent. Instead he gestured to the unbroken Chainsword stuck between the ribs of a dead Hydralisk among the pile.

"My lord? I do not understand… Command me, lord. Ah…" The Sergeant finally understood the gesture, and looked down at his broken weapon.

No sooner did the Guardsman replace his melee weapon, the last of the dumping pipes quivered. Seeing how the ancient Space Marine turn to face the pulsing hole in the wall, the Guardsman Sergeant gripped his weapons tight.

"What is going on, sir?

There was no answer from the Silent One, but the Zerg wall did. A new blob of debris fell from the hole in the wall, and along came more deformed Zerg. Yet, this time, there were more. Two Hydralisks reared up from the debris, both of them with clawless but with bigger head, while two Zerglings had their own slight deformities such as lacking one rear foot and lacking in exterior carapace.

"Xeno! Die!" The Sergeant roared as he fired his Laspistol at the dazed Zerglings.

The skinless Zergling was struck first, and its head exploded as the powerful beam of the Laspistol easily seared through the flesh and thin skull, vaporizing the brain until the pressure caused the head to burst. One of the Hydralisks turned and roared, and fired its spines, and the Silent One quickly entered the fray. His Power Sword easily deflected the spines while the Guardsman Sergeant deftly closed in on the creature and stuck his new Chainsword into the belly of the beast, killing it.

Dakka! Dakka!

Two bolts were fired from the Bolt Pistol of the Silent One, killing the other Hydralisk before it could even shoot its own spines. The Sergeant kicked the lame Zergling before cutting off its head.

"These are not the same ferocious creatures we've fought before, my lord. I believe that they…" The Guardsman Sergeant could not finish his sentence.

CRRRROAAARR!

A Hydralisk of immense size, clearly another defective one but not of clear deformity had appeared right behind the Guardsman. The Silent One saw where it was wrong. It had shorter body, making its mobility weakest part of its formidable size. The creature reared up and stood at least as tall as that of a Space Marine Terminator, and clad in carapace thicker and more metallic than any other they had encountered. Its claws were large and sharp, and the creature's muscles so thick yet supple. Even the Silent One gritted his teeth as the huge creature clawed its way out from the ground and roared.

"Think you can surprise me, xeno! DIE!" The Guardsman Sergeant shouted defiantly as he struck out with his Chainsword.

The cheaper Chainsword had its teeth coated in diamantine but even that would have torn through the carapace of a normal Hydralisk unless it was protected by shield. Yet, this Hydralisk, as deformed as it was, had incredible defense. Its thick carapace was so metallic that the gleam belied its metallic content.

Krrrraaak!

The diamantine-coated teeth of the Chainsword grinded its way into the thick carapace, only to cause sparks and barely cutting into the creature. The creature looked down as if the Guardsman's attack was something it did not expect nor care. So casually, the creature raised its massive claw only to be intercepted by the Power Sword of the Silent One. Sparks rained upon the helmetless head of the Sergeant who quickly withdrew, only to be struck backhanded by the other claw, knocking the man backward. The Hydralisk drew back its right claw to strike the Space Marine from the side while its left claw was pressing down on the Power Sword so hard and coated in Psi Blade that the Space Marine could not budge.

The molecular disruptive field of the ancient Master-Crafted Power Sword tried to push into the field of pure psionic energy of the Psi Blade. The disruptive field poured out incredibly dense yet finely honed energy that would seep into the bonds between molecules and then separate them, often causing irreversible damage. The Psi Blade was a blade of intense psionic energy. So intense is that thin layer of psionic energy that not even the molecular disruptive energy could penetrate, yet the Power Sword has such strength that no damage would assail the physical blade itself. The intensity of the two weapons' power was matched, but it was the matter of the wielders' strength that decided that duel.

As strong as he was, the Silent One was slowly being pushed downward from the weight and strength of the Hydralisk, and he saw that the other claw was being drawn back, coiled to strike. There was a choice, he could fire his Bolt Pistol into the head of the Hydralisk although the result could not be assured, or he could let go of the pistol and used both hands to push away the pressing claw. He opted for the chance to kill the Hydralisk.

Dakka! Click! Click!

One shot was fired but it merely broke the jaw of the Hydralisk, and then the pistol jammed. It was a moment of truth. The Silent One was going to die, in such dismal hole in the ground, fighting against the castoffs of a xeno race.

Krraaaaaaaagh!

Unanticipatedly, the Hydralisk roared in pain.

From its chest protruded a Power Saber. The creature struggled, and it gave the Silent One enough freedom to strike back. He rolled to the side and swung his blade sideways, and with that slice the Hydralisk lost the front end of its head. With disgusting gurgling noise, the Hydralisk fell to the side slowly.

It was only then the Silent One could see the form of a Commissar in tattered clothes holding his Power Saber.

"Commissar Neric, sir! It's good to see a familiar face." The Imperial Guard Sergeant saluted.

The Commissar narrowed his eyes then nodded.

"Sergeant Welon, am I correct? Didn't you serve with the boy Rolan?" The middle-aged Commissar asked.

"Yes, sir. My company served with Junior Commissar Rolan, sir. He died bravely in the face of impossible odd." The Sergeant answered.

"Good. That is how it should be." Then the Commissar turned to the Silent One. "And what of you, my lord Space Marine? How is that a god of war finds himself in such place?"

The Silent One simply looked down at the Commissar, and there was a moment of silence between them.

"No matter, as long as you can lead us out of here. I have seen Space Marines fight, and seeing your decorations, I suspect that you are a great warrior."

The Silent One nodded lightly, and merely pointed at the debris.

"What is it?"

The debris shifted, making the two Imperial Guard soldiers tense up, but it was only a lone Guardsman who crawled out of from beneath a sheet of metal that used to be a part of an Imperial vehicle.

"Identify yourself, Guardsman!" The Commissar roared.

The Guardsman's uniform was not of Istandorian, so he had to ask.

"Guardsman Vork Ross, sir. 95th Riax Regiment, 2nd Company, serving under Captain Jork Feriss, sir!" The Guardsman stood to attention.

Before either the Commissar or the Sergeant could ask further question, the Space Marine stepped forward. They all looked at the Silent One as he wrote on the ground with his Power Sword.

-What is the last thing you remember?-

"I was fighting the Zerg at the Phlodian Hills, my lord. Our Chimeras were being torn apart by those Hydralisks and there were so many Roaches… Then the Hellhound exploded, and I lost consciousness." The Guardsman from Riax answered.

"Phlodian Hills? That's long way away from where we were fighting. We've been combating the Zerglings near the Blood Canyon, that's at least two hundred clicks south of Phlodian Hills." The Sergeant exclaimed.

The Silent One wrote on the ground further.

-I fought on the Iron Hills along with my brothers.-

"That's in the far north, my lord. Yet another one hundred clicks North West of Phlodian Hills."

The arena shook again, and the three men and the Space Marine turned. Where the Silent One had woken up from his own debris field, a new and greater pile of things was deposited. Then, from all other holes came a flood of debris, where a mix of Zerg creatures abandoned by the Swarm as well as wounded Imperial forces and whole lot of deritus filled the arena.

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><p><strong>965.739.M41<strong>

**Planetary Capital - Rugale Fortress**

The mighty fortress gates opened wide.

Across the broad drawbridge of rockrete and plasteel make marched Imperial Guards in their full glory, now absolved of guilt after the purges were made thorough and quick. Only a handful of Guardsmen had been corrupted by the traitor general but they were the core of the Imperial Guard's elites long stationed on this world. Additional forces and forces that were originally under various colonels and lesser officers were more or less untouched by the heresy, although it would have been but a matter of time had the traitor general succeeded.

Yet, the Inquisitor and his allies managed to strike down the heretic before the rebellion could be brought to full swing. Now, the amassed armed forces were redeployed to reinforce the front lines against the Zerg. Entire companies of men were being marched out from their cozy barracks and shelters to return to the front. The first groups to depart were those who had yet to see combat against the Zerg. They were well armed, rested and with a tiny possibility of having been influenced by the traitors. For that, they were assigned extra Commissars, officers of assured loyalties and plenty of Ogryn and Stormtroopers to keep an eye out for any sign of cowardice.

They marched across the thick draw bridge in a tight formation of five squads wide and ten squads long, these men quickly found themselves faced with the Space Marines, of both the Deathwatch and the Crimson Knights, as the Commissars and their new officers ordered them to board the large four-wheeled metal carts chained behind scores of Chimeras. They looked very uncomfortable and dangerous. They were open topped with bare-minimum seating, and could squeeze two full Guardsmen squads on them. It was the use of such crude transportation method that would allow the Imperium to deliver a great number of soldiers to the front in time to fight off the Zerg.

It took almost three hours of non-stop transfer that allowed every Guardsmen in the Regiments-under-suspicion. Then it was the turn for those who were returning to their original command. They were afforded decent transports, at least better than those who departed before them. Though the number of Guardsmen were barely more than half of the previous group, the number of Chimeras used in transporting them was greater by a degree. Even the couple of carts dragged behind them had a thin roof of tent-like material set upon thick wire frames. Beside the Guardsmen, there were also scores of armored vehicles being re-distributed to their respective commanders. Sentinels of various loadouts and tanks of Leman Russ chassis followed suit too. Hundreds of tanks, from the basic Leman Russ and Chimeras filled with Guardsmen, to Basilisks, Manticores, Hydra Flak Tanks, Leman Russ variants such as Demolisher, Annihilator, Exterminator and Punisher were seen among the vehicles heading toward the front.

The third group that departed were the task forces that Titus and Hadrian decided to allocate to key junctions across the battlefields.

"It has been a day." Titus growled as he watched the a squad of Valkyries filled with Stormtroopers and veteran Guardsmen fly off into the distance.

"What did you say?" Cyrus of the Blood Ravens asked.

Only Titus, Cyrus, Harax the Librarian has remained within the walls of the fortress while others of the Deathwatch and the Crimson Knights were outside directing military forces for redeployment. Kolonnes and Hadrian had returned to their respective spaceships in order to use the massive and powerful logic-engines aboard them. Kolonnes took the encoded dataslate that may have the location of the Virus Bombs in its secretive Machine Spirit, while Hadrian had returned to his ship to search his database on the Chaos Lord that Titus had encountered.

"It has been a whole day since we have encountered the vile agents of Chaos. We are making no progress." Titus said.

"You seem impatient, Captain." Cyrus raised his eyebrows. "Impatience can often mean death to ones in our line of work."

Titus paused. The Blood Raven was correct.

"I have felt such helplessness before, Sergeant, and I did not wish to feel it ever again. I had slain the Chaos Sorcerer Nemeroth with my bare hands, and I thought that would be over. Yet, once again, I was laid low by a foul sorcery of the Chaos and their warpcraft. I shudder to think..." Titus muttered.

"Best made plans can awry, Captain. As a Captain of many campaigns you should know that better than anyone."

The Ultramarine nodded.

"I suppose I felt a little out of balance since I had faced these Zerg. They are an enigmatic race, and it is difficult for me to adjust to their tactics and strategies. It is foreign and alient to truest extent, and I've not felt so inadequate as when I faced that... Reaver creature." Titus gritted his teeth.

It was true that Titus was struck down so easily by the creature, and it was a combined effort of many elite Space Marines that defeated the creature, and even then it was the final intervention of the Eldar that ended the creature.

"I suppose I can understand such emotions, Captain, though not from someone of your history."

"I have never have found myself in situation where my resolve, my strength, my skills and my brothers-in-arms were inadequate."

Cyrus looked at Titus staring out the window. Cyrus was a perceptive man, and he knew what this was about.

"You have been cast out from your Chapter in ways that you have never foreseen. Your captaincy is now lost to you, despite you being alive, and it wounds you much more than you had expected at first."

Titus turned to look at Cyrus for a moment, then nodded.

"I suppose you are right, Cyrus. I have never needed to doubt nor needed to imagine a life apart from my beloved chapter." Titus said.

Suddenly, the door at the end of the chamber opened to reveal both Hadrian and Kolonnes, with Henri de Arignon and Epistolary Harax in tow.

"Let us begin." Hadrian said in a more somber tone than Titus had ever heard from him.

"First thing, I have a good news." Kolonnes spoke up. "Chaplain Matoras is expected to make full recovery within days, although his return to fighting form will take some more time. For now, he is conscious and is coordinating our defenses across the planet."

"Thank you, Librarian. The Ultramarines owes your Apothecary a debt in healing such wounds." Titus said with a light smile.

Hadrian nodded to Kolonnes in equal thanks, for Matoras had been with him for a very long time. After Kolonnes stepped back down, Hadrian stepped up to the display console.

"I have returned with the profile on the possible Chaos agent who had taken the traitor general from our very grasp."

Hadrian inserted a little data storage device.

"Harax, Titus... Is this the Chaos Lord you have witnessed?" Hadrian asked as the hologram depicted a Chaos Terminator in ornate armor with a bloodied Apothecary next to him.

"Yes, that is the foul sorcerer who dared to assail us at a critical moment!" Titus exclaimed.

"This is worse than I had thought." Hadrian sighed.

"Do you know this one?" Harax asked, but Hadrian shook his head.

"I do not know this Chaos Lord personally, but he had been identified by the Ordo Malleus as extremely dangerous foe. They have placed a massive bounty on any information about this Chaos Lord and they had the High-Lords of Terra issue a kill-on-sight order to all members of the Inquisition." Hadrian answered.

They all looked at the hologram.

"He is known as the Judanus the Betrayer, and his follower is the Lilgath the Bloodied. He and his small group of Chaos Astartes have plagued the galaxy for several decades. He is a relatively new player, but his deeds speak more of him." The Inquisitor explained. "He had appeared just few decades ago, and he had plundered over twenty-two key Imperial worlds, including the Shrine World of St Bellesica in Segmentum Obscurus where he had slain the Canoness and her force of Adepta Sororitas defending that world before bombing the capital city of that world. He had also conquered three Hive Worlds in Weltman Sector in Ultima Segmentum where he had sacrificed over a billion Imperial citizens before Imperial reinforcements could arrive."

"That would certain draw attention, at least from the Ecclesiarchy among others." Cyrus commented.

"Indeed, he drew much attention from high above. The daemons he let loose upon the Weltman Sector really caused the Ordo Malleus to declare him a major threat." Hadrian answered. "However, his worst deed thus far have been the massive ransacking of the Forge World Jariadus Tertius and its nine moons. He commanded a coalition of Chaos forces that included the Word Bearers, the World Eaters, the Alpha Legion and the Thousand Sons in a massive and devastating strike that crippled the defending fleet of three hundred Defense Monitors and eighty Cobra Destroyers still in the shipyard above the planet. We do not know how they did it, but by the time the Blood Angels and three other Space Marine Chapters responded, they had taken every ship in the drydocks, taken every ingot and bars of mineral reserves mined from the nine moons, and taken fourteen of eighteen Titans being repaired on the Forge World, not to mention enough munitions and weapons to arm five Imperial Guard Regiment and a whole Space Marine Chapter."

"He is a busy little tyke, isn't he?" Henri growled at the list of the Chaos Lord's dark deeds.

"He is a looter..." Cyrus muttered as he read more on the list of Judanus' deeds.

"His modus operandi does indicate that he is a bandit lord, but no one has been able to identify his true allegiences, much less what his game is." The Inquisitor said with a concern in his voice. "This recent ransack of an important piece of technology is but one in a series of similar attacks he had carried out. Although the Inquisition suspects him to be working for the Thousand Sons, we cannot confirm it."

"He is preparing an army... He is setting up his own army and for a big war." Titus said, drawing everyone's eyes to him.

"What?" Kolonnes asked in surprise.

"I can see the pattern here. When he is ransacking and looting major worlds, he uses a coalition or small bands of Cultists. He often utilizes the Alpha Legion and the Thousand Sons, but that tells me nothing. However, I can see seven instances where only he and his corrupted Apothecary have infiltrated a world for technology and not materials. A copy of Multi-laser parts from this Industrial world, the technology to make the engines of Leman Russ tanks here, and the secret of how to link the four Autocannons on a Hydra Flak weapon system from this world in Ultima Segmentum." Titus pointed them out. "I suspect that some of these attacks, the major ones are parts of a bigger plan of someone else and he is just a pawn in that game. Someone wanted these ships and materials and sent him. He would have gotten something too, I suppose."

Cyrus read through the list again and then he too came to the same conclusion.

"I see it now. These small but critical attacks where he had taken artefacts of value are for yet another client, while these technology thefts are for himself." Cyrus said. "He brooks no witnesses in these technology thefts, and I'd imagine that the ones we have discovered here is but a tiny fraction of his thefts. He is hiding his actions from those who employ him."

Hadrian's face lightened up.

"Well, fresh points of view does wonders!" The Inquisitor beamed.

"If Captain Titus has made the correct deduction, I would think this Judanus character have just went up in the danger scale. He can now clone himself an army of imprinted, loyalty-assured army clad in crude power armor." Harax concluded.

"Once we are done with this meeting, I shall relay this analysis to Ordo Malleus. They will be eager to find anything on this foul sorcerer." The Inquisitor nodded. "Now, shall we turn to the problem at hand?"

"Most certainly, Inquisitor." Henri answered, for he was in overall charge of redistributing Imperial Guard forces across the front lines.

"How is the front line? Since Captain Titus and Librarian Harax had encountered the agents of Chaos, I have been focusing on them little." Hadrian asked as he turned off the hologram and gave the console to Henri.

Henri de Arignon deftly inserted his own data device to show a holographic map of the continent, particularly where the battle lines were drawn.

"Since the activation of the satellites and the subsequent destruction of the initial front, the Imperial Guard forces have retreated to the final defensive line just beyond the massive plains between the Rugale fortress and the first line of rugged hills." Henri drew a line on the hologram with his finger and a little red line followed his finger.

The human-dominated region of this Agri world had been reduced to roughly half since the last situation update, and it made Titus wince since it was his activation of the satellites that cracked a major hole in the defender's lines. All that remained of the human controlled region was a roughly hexagonal shaped area.

[[[Approximate size of Pre-satellite human-controlled area: Texas + California + Nevada / Post-satellite human-controlled area: Texas]]]

There were several red triangles across the red line, dotting several key positions of strategic importance. Titus could follow the lines and see how they may be fortifications defending them.

"There are currently eight Imperial fortified bastions along these hills that still stands, and the Imperial Guards and their Enginseers have been constructing walls, trenches, traps and mines alone this defense line. I have ordered six Infantry Companies to man these weakened lines." Henri continued his explanations.

"Who were defending them?" Harax asked.

"Three Infantry Companies, one Heavy Weapons Company and one Artillery Company have been defending the line under the command of Colonel Delor before he was joined by those retreating from the previous front. They should be about double the manpower, though the wounded and the lack of heavy armor would mean that their combat effectiveness did not increase too much." The Terminator Sergeant explained.

"What of supplies? Can we maintain the supply line?" Titus asked as he thought about the sudden influx of Guardsmen may cause shortage in supplies.

"It appears that the traitor general had preprared his rebellion well. There are enough supplies stored in this fortress to feed and equip ten Regiments for three years. The problem will be to maintain the supply locomotive line from this supply depot to the front." The Crimson Knight Terminator zoomed in on the map.

About few kilometers from the Rugale fortress was a decently built town from where two railway tracks stretched forth into the west.

"I have directed an Infantry Company to protect that line by using trenches and whatever they can."

"What of the Armored Companies?" Hadrian questioned.

"These hills will need to be held by infantry, but these large and wide valleys are the gateway. If the pair of bastions defending these four major valleys fall, then it's open field between the hills and the fortress. So, I dispatched an Infantry Company, one Armored Company and half of an Artillery Company to each of the four main valleys."

"Good. Now, what of the south?" Hadrian turned to Harax, who had been aiding Henri with the work.

"The southern front has been reduced but not by much. The wide rivers and ancient provincial walls that stands hundreds of meters high and thick are holding back the Zerg well. I have dispatched two Artillery Companies and two Armored Companies as well as two Infantry Companies. The problem is this area of orchards. These fruit trees fill the only area that would allow the Zerg free entry, but shoving down two Armored companies down that chokehold is ridiculous at best." The Dark Angel Librarian explained. "I have sent Stormtroopers and Enginseers to make that place a killing field when the Zerg finally figure out that passage. I have stationed one of the Armored Companies to defend the wheat fields between the orchards and one of the laser cannons built on that low hill. That would be our final defense in the south."

"The last would be the north. Captain Titus?"

"As you know, with the satellite bombardment, the northern front has been shrunk. The barley fields and root vegetable fields to the north are lost and the men have retreated to the mountains and hills past the iron mines. Our failure to take those hills is a major setback in establishing a strong defensive lines, but it is still manageable." Titus said, pointing out the area on the map.

"Mountains? That should be easier then." Cyrus said. "We hold air superiority, which means that the Zerg will send small ground units only when they realize that they cannot field their largest ground units among the narrow valleys and canyons."

"My thoughts exactly, Cyrus. The Pilaron Bastion here," Titus pointed out an impressive fortification, "will hold back any enemy trying to cross the river, which means that the Zerg will need to traverse the mountain paths."

The Pilaron Bastion was indeed an impressive fortification, designed and constructed by the ancient rogue Magos to defend the crucial northern region against the Imperial retaliation against his revolt. Built on a rocky hill and situated on a low cliff overlooking the twisting river to the south, its thick and tall walls reached all the way to the mighty grey cliffs to the north that reached over 1,100 meters in height. It was a massive messa-like formation of pure rocks sitting just south of the mountain ranges. The fortification's walls had been drilled into and featured reinforced openings from which the defenders could fire weapons down at the tresspassing enemies. With walls reaching nearly 140 meters on the low ground just before the mighty cliffs, the bastion feature six very large towers armed with four Hydra Flak turrets and a Basilisk cannon set upon a turret base, capable to swiveling to any direction they wanted.

"I have sent an Infantry Company and three platoons worth of Heavy Weapons Teams, and enough artillery pieces to level anything that tries to come that way." Titus concluded about that area.

"What of the mountain path further to the north?"

"I have dispatched four platoons of infantry, three platoons of Heavy Weapons Teams, and enough Enginseers to fill that canyon with death. The Zerg will not step through that canyon without being greatly depleted in number, and they will face a full Armored Company and an Infantry Company waiting for the on the other side."

Hadrian nodded and sighed with relief.

"If we can fend off their attacks, then we may have a chance to drive them back here. We have the air superiority, which means that we are going to bomb their territory before sending in Valkyries. Who knew that the traitor general had hidden himself so many Valkyries, Vultures and Vendettas?"

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><p><strong>966.739.M41<strong>

**Khriador Mountains – Near North Pole**

"We are near... I can sense them. My soul trembles in sorrow, for their sacrifices were dear to us." Warlock Lannaeth Mur muttered as he gripped the handle of his Witch Blade tighter.

Behind him, the Eldar warriors sensed the Warlock's excitement and they also prepared themselves. Dire Avengers checked their Shuriken Catapult against the cold of the arctic, though their Eldar technology would not often trouble them even in such cold. Still, all ten Dire Avengers checked their weapons before fanning out in a search pattern.

"Over there! Just beyond that hill." The Warlock indicated, and with two separate flashes, two Warp Spiders disappeared.

"We sense death. The Destroyer hungers." The Dark Reapers spoke, their heavy but steady footsteps carrying deliberate forward momentum.

"Enemies?" The Warlock asked.

"Perhaps, but it could be the dead."

"We are looking for the dead. Their souls are reaching out to us." Warlock replied before turning to see the two squads of Guardians following them.

Just beyond the Guardians were five Howling Banshees bringing up the rear. It all looked fine but something nagged within the head of the Warlock. He was no seer but there was a jolt of something in the Warp.

"I sense a disturbance in the Warp." Lannaeth Mur growled. "Prepare for battle, we may be walking into an ambush."

They walked some more, and within minutes they were faced with nothing but snow.

"It's here." Lannaeth Mur whispered before closing his eyes and focusing his mind.

The world around him seemed to slow down and fill with colors of a billion different hues. There were temptations too. They came to him like tiny whispers. Yet, he was too strong to fall for such things. His mind reached forth and grabbed tiny slivers of what he wanted. He wove them like a basket of straws. Then he filled that ball of strings with something more powerful. Lannaeth Mur opened his eyes and in his hand was a tiny ball of almost-white fire.

He realized that it must have been almost an hour since he began to weave the spell. Snow had already covered him to his shin, and the warriors had taken positions around him. The three Dark Reapers positioned themselves behind a squad of Guardians who had created energy shield and defended the Dark Reapers. The other squad of Guardians formed similar defenses around the Warlock, though the psyker did not notice it until that moment. The two Warp Spiders had disappeared to somewhere, but the Dire Avengers lined up in front of the Warlock, their gaze at the prize before them. Finally, the Banshees still protected their rear, their sharp eyes gazing at the snow-covered valley before their eyes.

With a single gesture, Lannaeth Mur flung the ball of white fire into the air above his target. Then the snow began to melt and then evaporated. The heat was still palpable, despite the psychic limitations he placed on the spell itself, and the steam that came from the large hole was intense. Yet, it did the work, and now they were faced with a half-desiccated Aurora class light cruiser. Though it was old and damaged, it was intact.

"Quickly! We must retrieve the Spirit Stones!"

-So that's what you Eldar were after.-

Lannaeth Mur whipped around, pointing his Witch Blade at the source of the voice, yet he found none. Instead, he felt the tremble of the ground.

"They come... The Hungering Beast comes! Woe! Woe! Woe is upon us, Eldar! Sell your precious lives dearly, for Khaine looks upon your blades!" Warlock shouted even as a Nydus Worm exploded out from the thick snow.

Dark Reapers sought to turn their weapons at the Worm, but they were too late. Zerglings were pouring out from the Nydus Worm like a flood of death. The Howling Banshees howled in shrill and devastating sound as they charged at the Zerglings and a handful of Roaches. Khaine's maidens, his harbingers of death cried as they fired their Shuriken Pistols. Tiny shards of razor-sharp crystaline ammunitions rained down on the charging Zerglings with their burning enraged eyes.

Yet, unlike before, these Zerglings were faster and some even evaded incoming projectiles in a decisive and agile movements. Their wings fluttering, the Zerglings came closer and closer before leaping a short distance into the air and lunging at the Howling Banshees. They were cut down. The Eldar Power Swords were deadly, for their fields of matter disruption vibrated at such rate that not even the thick Power Armors of Space Marines could block easily.

Human power weapons were just like their makers: overpowered and blunt. A solid field of molecular disruption field encased human weapons and they crushed through the bonds between molecules, perhaps causing greater damage. Just so, the Eldar power weapons were graceful like their makers. Even their power fields were honed to sharpness and they would bite through the molecular bond, but the vibration of that power field would cleanly sever the molecular bonds.

Such grace was shown by how they sliced so cleaning through a Zergling. First five Zerglings to reach the Howling Banshees were cut in half, some lengthwise and others top and bottom. The blades of Banshees were merciless and swift, cutting down one after another in endless flurry of death. They were supported by the Dire Avengers, half of the squad having entered the Eldar ship while the other half came to aid the Banshees slowly being overwhelmed by the number.

Using their deadly and accurate Avenger Shuriken Catapults, the Dire Avengers shot down Zerglings seeking to flank the Banshees even as the squad of Guardians around the Warlock joined in and threw their Plasma Grenades into the waves of Zerglings. Scores of Zerglings died in the explosion and more from the relentless hailstorm of Shurikens. Yet, the Zerg did not charge in without thought. Sacrifices of Zerglings brought the Roaches closer to the Banshees.

They had but moments before the Roaches sprayed the Eldar females with acid. Two Banshees twirled backward and evaded the acid spray by the thinest of margins. The third one increased the power of her Banshee Mask and sent forth a blast of sonic and psychic pulse, enough to deflect the first spray of acid but barely. The forth Banshee had been swamped by the Zerglings and was sprayed with two streams of acid. She screamed, and her screams of death were not of her prey but her own. Her howl ended as the acid ate up through the mesh of her armor and tore into her flesh, liquifying her organ.

The fifth one had evaded the acid, but her left foot was caught on the corpse of a Zergling and she almost stumbled, and that was the end of her as the waves of claws tore her into pieces. Though their attack power mighty, the Howling Banshees did not have thick and solid armor of Astartes, and they paid the price for their racial folly. Yet, the Eldar fought on, remaining Banshees, Dire Avengers and Guardians making slow retreat, covered by the streams of ranged fire from the Dark Reapers and the other squad of Guardians who had managed to break down the flank of Zergling wave.

Lannaeth Mur sent forth a bolt of pure psychic power laden with destructive telekinesis. The Roach struck by the bolt lifted up into the air and then exploded, showering the Zerglings around it with shards of its hard carapace now turned into shrapnel. Then the Warlock fired two bursts from his Shuriken Pistol, killing two Zerglings with perfect headshots. Even as the Guardians returned to his side along with the Dire Avengers, the Warlock kept his eye on the real threat that sought to hide itself from the Warlock's gaze. Even as he stood side by side with the remaining Banshees and cut down three Zerglings in succession, he sensed the danger nearby.

A Roach charged at the Warlock after finding its powerful acid spray deflected by a telekinetic shield. It sought to kill the Warlock by swinging its axe-like claw, but it saw no more. The Witch Blade had already made its way through the brain of the Roach and tore it asunder. Then the next Roach died, this time lifted up by the Warlock and flung at the cliff. The waves of Zerglings seemed to thin and the handful of Roaches were cut down one by one, though it had cost the Eldar additional lives of four Guardians and two Dire Avengers. Still, Lannaeth Mur could see the difference he was making, and sent forth a burst of power, sending a dozen Zerglings flying backward.

"We can win! Fight! Cut these beasts down!" The Warlock shouted, his mind full of power.

Then the Zerg attacked, and differently too. Four Hydralisks exploded out from the thick snow along with half dozen Roaches and fifty more Zerglings, and they appeared all around the neat alcove where the Dark Reapers and a squad of Guardians were laying down devastating fire upon the Zerg. The Dark Reapers turned their weapons upon the Roaches, for their thick amor were more than a match of the Guardians' weapons. Still, the Zergling wave had descended uponn the Guardians, tearing them apart into pieces of armor-clad flesh and blood. It appeared that the Dark Reapers would reap no more.

From both side of Dark Reapers appeared Warp Spider who trained their Death Spinners on the Zerglings. Streams of molecular-thin wire composed of a complex organo-polymer compound descended upon the flesh-armored Zerglings. The Zerg creatures suddenly found their wings sliced into thousands of pieces and their carapce torn into tiny shards, and their own flesh shredded into minced meat. Even the thick Power Armor of Space Marines would often find their deaths at the barrel of Death Spinners, and Zerg were no exception. Not even the Roaches stood the brunt of Warp Spider attack for too long.

However, Hydralisks were not there as decorations. They had stood back, letting the Zerglings kill the Guardians, but when the Warp Spiders appeared, they reared up for a fight. Their powerful grooved spines were let loose upon the Eldar, and before the Warp Spiders realized what was happening, the three Dark Reapers were down, their body riddled with scores of long spines that punctured through armor and flesh and crushed the bones. Realizing the danger, the Warp Spiders quickly vanished, seeking another vantage to win the fight.

They reappeared up on the cliff face, their feet tiptoeing carefully upon a precarious ledge. They fired off their powerful ranged weapon at the Hydralisks below, shredding the Zerg creatures with ease before disappearing again. They jumped to the Warlock, seeking to escort him to safety even as more Zerg were encroaching upon his person.

"Back, you mindless beasts! The precious Eldar souls shall never be your feed!"

The Warlock was fighting desperately. His reserve of psychic power was almost at its end and he was drawing more and more power from the Warp, risking the gaze of the Slaanesh. Another blast of eldritch flames scorched away a dozen Zerglings, but they would not end.

"We must depart, Warlock." One of the Warp Spider whispered as they appeared beside the Warlock.

"Not yet! We must hold!"

"As you wish."

The other Warp Spider replied before jumping behind a rearing Hydralisk and firing a burst of Death Spinner strings into the body of the creature then jumping away to blast apart a Roach trying to shove past a cadre of Zerglings.

"Warlock, we have them!" The five Dire Avengers who ventured into the Eldar vessel had returned, carrying with them the precious Spirit Stones.

The Warlock smiled behind his mask.

"Then we leave."

-Not so fast.-

The voice was back, and the Warlock frowned as the Zerg forces suddenly relented in their assault.

"Spiders, take the Spirit Stones and leave this place. I fear that our lives may soon end." The Warlock predicted.

A form appeared like a glittering shadow of despair. It was a Hybrid Destroyer, a powerful and deadly harbinger of psionic death. Its very form glowed in psionic flames that licked at the very fabric of reality. The Warlock could literally feel the Warp bending around the creature, slowly funneling into the creature.

"What are you... monster?"

-We are the SWARM! We will devour your Spirit Stones after we tear your flesh apart.-

The creature held one of the Spirit Stones torn from the shredded body of a Banshee.

"Release her... Do not touch it with your foul hands, beast."

-I refuse. Now you die...-

Warp Spiders blinked right before the Destroyer and raised their Death Spinners, and for a moment, the Warlock thought this battle won. So sudden was the movement of the Warp Spiders that the creature could not possibly survive.

Yet, the Eldar knew not the power of the Destroyer. The one that appeared to the Destroyer's left was instantly caught in a powerful graviton field and raised meters above ground before being crushed into a tiny ball of blood and minced meat. The other was caught by the Destroyer's claws. Even as the Warp Spider struggled to free himself, the Destroyer stared at him with deathful gaze before sending forth an arc of psionic lightning directly into the brain of the Eldar Warrior.

The Warlock watched in horror as the head of the Warp Spider exploded and his soul sucked out by the Zerg rather than going into the Spirit Stone. The shock of such display was too much. The Warlock stumbled back.

-I will enjoy eating you all and your Spirit Stones...-

The Hybrid chuckled, but not before everything around it exploded.

The Nydus Wurm died instantly as volleys from Fire Dragons shattered and burned its body, and the power of a D-Cannon exploded right behind the Destroyer, quickly followed by barrages from two Nightwings, a Viper and two Falcons as well as the Reaper Launchers fired by the Dark Reapers lining the clifftops.

-You dare interrupt me!-

The Hybrid Destroyer roared even as a Wraithlord appeared from behind the smoking corpse-mound of the Nydus Wurm. Yet, stripped of its shield from the sheer firepower poured upon it, the Hybrid Destroyer was now at a disadvantage.

The Wraithlord fired its shoulder-mounted Brightlance Cannon, piercing the flesh of the creature. The Destroyer answered the attack by flinging a bolt of its psionic energy. The Void Blast of the Destroyer struck the Wraithlord, whose armor singed and warped by its intense energy. Neither would give easily. The Destroyer sent waves after waves of Void Blast, while the Wraithlord closed the distance by swatting aside many attacks with its Power Sword and taking some damages with its armor.

At last, the Destroyer and the Wraithlord was upon each other, and the Wraithlord unleashed its own fury upon the wounded Zerg creature. The Power Fist tore into the chest of the Hybrid even as the glowing tentacles of the Destroyer shredded the armor of the Wraithlord. However, the Destroyer was a creature of thought and psionic might, and was ill-suited for such melee combat. Moreover, so wounded as it was by the Eldar ambush, the creature was shaken and unable to focus its will. Eventually, the Power Sword in the hand of the Wraithlord buried itself into the Hybrid's neck and tore it loose. The Wraithlord had lost an arm and most of its exterior, but it still ended the creature.

* * *

><p><strong>975.739.M41<strong>

The battlelines were being constantly redrawn.

Even as the Imperial Guards pushed forward with their new-found strength in a fresh surge of vehicles and reinforcements, the Zerg hit back equally as hard. Awakened by the Overmind and commanded by Volran, the Swarm revealed itself to the Imperium. What was once thought to be no more than a million creatures in all turned out to be a very conservative number. Within the first day alone, the Sensoriums aboard Imperial vessels calculated that no less than two million 'Zerglings' were slaughtered by the Imperials along with almost eighty thousand creatures of greater echelon. It was purely through the selfless sacrifices of Imperial Guards that key strategic locations were secured.

When additional reinforcements had arrived from Riax and beyond, it had given the Imperial a chance to not only hold the line but to push forward. Hadrian's reach had been long and his influences had been crucial in securing six more Imperial Guard Regiments, including one full-strength Armored Regiment that arrived from a Forge World of Vistoria Sextus, quickly fielding incredible three-hundred Leman Russ tanks and variants as well as fifteen Baneblades. Incensed by these heavy firepower and the support of orbital bombardment by the Imperial Fleet, the Imperial Guards pushed on against the millions of Zergs pouring out from every dark corners of the planet. Each day was a gruelling fight to the death, and each segment of land was fought in the bloodiest and most brutal battlefields that even the most veteran among the Guardsmen have not experienced.

Not all battles ended in victory, however, and it was soon clear that the battles led by the enigmatic yet revered elements of the Deathwatch often turned the battle, more through their experiences gained through their service to the Ordo Xenos than their singular combat prowesses as significant as they were. The Crimson Knights also deployed their forces in Combat Squads or less, helping to push through or defend weak points of the battle lines, but their strength lay in martial powers and not in the command of Imperial Guard forces against strange xenos. It was after several disastrous defeats that the commanders of the Imperial forces decided to relegate the field command decisions to those of the Deathwatch or actual Imperial Guard commanders who knew of their own strengths and weaknesses better.

* * *

><p>One such battle that a member of the Deathwatch commanded was in the vast wheat fields of Grain-Sector 43 or the 'Palehorn valley' as the locals called it. What used to be endless fields of wheat had been unfarmed and untouched for many years as it was rather deep in the Zerg controlled domain. The Imperial forces needed to take the valley to secure a foothold to push into the volcanic mountain ranges, where the Zerg forces maintained large base. Leading a force of Imperial Guards' elites was the Librarian Harax of the Deathwatch.<p>

The Epistolary Harax of the Dark Angels silently swore as he flung four Hydralisks into the air and smashing them against the desiccated and jagged remains of a Chimera that had been crippled and destroyed long ago. He had seen more terrifying and more gruesome xenos in his century-long service in the Deathwatch and had battled them, yet he had yet to face such enemy as the Zerg. These creatures were relentless and endless in number, and not even the savvy eyes of the Inquisitor could figure out how to deal with them. From behind him came half-dozen beams of Hotshot Lasguns and Hellguns and struck the still-writhing forms of the Hydralisks. Harax did not even turn to look as he was well aware of the assigned Inquisitorial Stormtroopers of Squad Varun, a squad with which he had a long and good history.

Sergeant Varun was an older man now after nearly two decades since his assignment. Now nearly forty years of age, the grizzly man was as tough as adamantium nails and his facial scars made him more fearsome than average Space Marine. They had spent last twenty two years together in a dedicated team where Harax would venture into most dangerous of situations while the Stormtroopers of Varun's squad would guard the Librarian to bitter end. The result was that only Sergeant Varun was the original member of Varun's squad, and the next longest serving Stormtrooper had been with the squad barely four years. Yet, they made such an effective team. Harax did not have to worry too much about covering his back when he was without rest of his Deathwatch bretheren.

"My lord, the scouts are in position. They have secured the first bunker and set up an overwatch on the roof."

Harax paused as Sergeant Varun reported.

He turned his gaze slowly toward north where the large metalic-grey form of a bunker was seen. With his super-human eyes he could see a full squad of Imperial Guardsmen all equipped with some sort of sniper weapons. The Terminator armor groaned as he took steps forward. The powerful Force Axe in his right hand and the Master-Crafted Stormbolter felt surprisingly light in his hands. The presence of Ruinous Powers was rather low around the area, and he now knew that it wasn't actually a good sign.

"Beware, sergeant. I cannot sense disturbances in the Warp. It can only mean that there is a large Zerg presence here that quells that currents of the Immaterium, or there is a powerful psychic creature of their misbegotten kind in command of their horde."

Harax finally commented, his gaze not leaving the distance something.

Varun did not take any of the Librarian's behavior with offence, for he had known the man too long. Instead, he had merely gave hand gestures to his men, one of whom used portable vox-caster.

It was not long before the rest of the battle group arrived behind them. Four Sentinels, each armed with different weapons were the vanguard of the group. As the Sentinels strode forward, sixteen Chimeras flanked by five Leman Russ tanks and two Hellhounds arrived immediately behind them and delivered their cargo.

"Secure all four bunkers on the south-side of the grain silos, sergeant. Heavy weapons to secure our fallback line until reinforcements arrive" said Harax as he and his personal squad of Stormtroopers moved along with the Sentinels.

"All four, my lord? That would reduce the number of Heavy Weapons Teams we can field" questioned the Sergeant. "It would seriously undermine our ability to suppress the incoming Zerg, my lord."

"Our objective is to secure the Communications Tower and reactivate its defenses. Once its Void Shield Generators and the automated defenses are back online, we will have enough leverage to drive the Zergs out of this little village. With all seven Hydra-Flak cannon turrets in our hands, we can hold the air and that would mean Valkyries can arrived without harassment."

Indeed, this deep into Zerg domain the powerful anti-air laser cannons hidden in the deep valleys and mountain ranges could not fight off the multitudes of smaller Zerg flyers. As the Imperial Guards pushed deeper their ability to maintain air-superiority was becoming more tenous.

"Yes, my lord. Would we be following the road?" asked Varun as the dust-covered asphalt road was seen leading into the village of abandoned buildings.

"It would be prudent perhaps not to venture into their ambush, sergeant. We go around the village, but I need a squad of snipers up on that adminstrations building," Harax pointed at the three-storey building at the entrance of the village. "That would give us enough overwatch."

"Will this be like the time on Omorsis Quintus, sir?" asked Varun with wicked smile.

Harax paused and cracked a smile.

"Indeed, it would be so, sergeant. You know what to do."

"Yes, my lord."

* * *

><p>To their right were the buildings of the village that had been abandoned and ruined for some years. Many of the buildings were without roofs and some even had their walls collapse. Harax could sense the dark and malicious stares of the Zerg creatures hiding among the buildings.<p>

"They know we are here. Sergeant, ready your men," commanded Harax as he gripped his Force Axe tighter.

"I'm sending in the Servo-Skulls now, my lord."

Harax nodded and a dozen Servo-Skulls moved toward the abandoned village at relatively high altitude just above the buildings. The three Enginseers quickly analyzed the data even as the Chimera charrying them moved on. They were about half way across the length of the village when they saw movements.

"So, the enemy becomes impatient."

At the muttered words of the Librarian, Guardsmen quickly readied for battle. The Chimera carrying Enginseers and their Servitors moved on along with a small escort of a single Leman Russ tank and another Chimera carrying Stormtroopers. Epistolary Harax, however, did not move along with them. He knew his role here. He needed to stop the Zerg from interfering. He needed to attract their attention.

Harax focused his mind. It was easier here. The daemons and whispers of darkness were there but their evil voices were distant and faint. The usual pull of temptation was much less here, though he did not disregard their danger even for a moment. He breathed in deeply and channeled the considerable energy behind that barrier. He flooded his mind like torrents of boiling oil, sticky and slippery. It was his excellent training and centuries of experience that allowed him to grasp the flow of that power. His mind grabbed and twisted the energy and funnelled it into something hotter and more tangible.

"HELLFIRE!" roared Harax as he pointed his Force Axe at the village.

From the tip of the Force Axe came out a tsunami of deep purple flames that rolled out toward the village like a carpet of incinerating death. Pitiful remains of structures warped and buckled under the sheer pressure of oxygen being sucked in and burning as the extreme temperature of the psychic fire set the air aflame. Then followed the screams of Zerg. A chorus of wails and howls were heard and plumes of black smokes from burning flesh could be seen.

"Men! Ready to fire!" screamed Sergeant Varun as his men formed a single line in front of the towering Space Marine Libarian.

Two Leman Russ tanks that escorted the group at the vanguard and rearguard turned themselves around, pointing all their guns toward the village. The three Chimeras with Guardsmen quickly unloaded their cargo who formed defensive formations around their vehicles. The Chimera in the middle with Heavy Flamer as its secondary armament had pressed forward a little, positioning itself a few meters closer to the village while the two others with Heavy Bolters stood back. Then even as the purple flames became white, then blue, then bright orange and eventuated into smoldering red in color, the Zerg appeared.

Provoked by the intense heat, the Zerg were prompted into action. Still charred and burned by the psychic fire, scores of injured Zerglings and a handful of Hydralisks and Roaches appeared from the ashen corpses of their fellow Zerg creatures and rushed at the humans.

"Fire! Kill the xenos! Slay them in the name of the Emperor!" roared Varun as he fired off his old Hellpistol.

Heavy Bolters from the front of Chimeras and the sponson-mounts of Leman Russ tanks spat out terrible howl of agony upon the Zerg. Already wounded, the Zerg creatures could not resist the firepower poured upon them. Even the beams of Lasguns were enough to pierce their broken carapace. Within seconds even the Roaches were slaughtered.

"Here they come," muttered Harax as he knew that this was far from over. "Do not hesitate. Do not flinch. Kill them and you shall live."

From the village came fresh Zerg and in greater numbers. Scores of Hydralisks were seen and Roaches easily numbered a hundred, and what seemed like endless tide of Zerglings could be seen pouring out from every corner of that cruddy village. Had the Imperial forces entered through the village, they would have been evicerated. Instead bolter rounds and las-beams pounded the Zerg without mercy. They came closer though. There was no stopping it.

Harax knew it was his time.

"In the name of Lion! You shall be sundered!" roared the Dark Angel as he charged leaped.

As impossible as it appeared, the psychic might of an Epistolary with over a century of experience allowed him to jump in a Terminator Armor, and he landed a few meters ahead, right on top of a Roach. Sickening crunch was heard and felt under his thick armored boots but Harax knew better than to admire the kill. His Stormbolter instantly came to life and shredded a dozen Zerglings in front of him. Then his Force Axe moved in a graceful arc that shuddered with heavily laden psychic power. Flesh were torn from bones and eyeballs were set aflame as the hate of xenos that burned within this Deathwatch Librarian was far too great for the feeble bodies of creatures.

The crackling energies of a Power Axe added with the finely honed psychic powers made mockery of weak carapace of Zerglings but the Roaches were a little tougher creatures. They attempted to block the attack with their axe-like claws and succeeded a little only to be crushed by telekinesis or had their heads blown up by the Stormbolter.

"I shall shatter you!"

Harax slammed his Force Axe down upon the ground and a thunderous impact threw back the Zerglings. Then rains of Heavy Bolter rounds mowed down the Zerglings flanking the Librarian. Spines bounced off the thick ceramite armor plating of the Terminator Armor as a Hydralisk reared itself to assailt the Librarian. Then it met the glowing gaze of Harax and his eternally burning zeal. Normally a quiet man, Harax rarely displayed his powers or his intensity outside of battles, but here, he was free to let loose.

"BE GONE!"

Two beams of pure light exploded out from the Librarian's eyes and met the Hydralisk's own, and the creature exploded. The force of that impact was such that four Roaches around the Hydralisk were slammed into the ruined buildings and got splattered quickly followed by seven Zerglings that met the same fate.

Without the temptation of Chaos around him, Harax felt greater freedom with his power than ever before. He gathered incredible energy around him, bending the reality itself. The faith in the God Emperor manifested in the Epistolary's psychic powers as he drew upon the radiance of the Astronomicon. Normally but a faint glare in the mind's eye, it was not a chorus of angelic voices led by such powerful conductor. A single drop from that golden gaze of the Emperor was channelled into his Stormbolter. The gun jammed, but not of any mechanical fault but because Harax demanded of it.

Feeling the pool of psychic energy around Harax, Zerg swarmed him. Four Hydralisks, seven Roaches and nearly fifty Zerglings all rushed at him, remaining Zerg creatures still being mowed down from a distance by the Imperial Guards.

KRRRRAAAAA~!

One of the ruined buildings shattered as an Ultralisk exploded out from the ground. Leman Russ tanks turned their guns away from Roaches and Hydralisks to deal with the greater threat. The High Explosive shells fired from the 120mm smoothbore guns impacted the thick armor of the Ultralisk, and it bled. The impact made it shudder and its flesh was torn and broken, but only a little. It was still a creature of magnificent constitution, and it held its ground. Instead of faltering or charging at the tanks, the creature turned its gaze upon the Librarian in Terminator Armor even as the Space Marine raised his psychically charged gun.

"Witness the wrath of the Emperor, filthy xeno! Only mankind has the right to live!" screamed the Librarian, his mind funnelled into the ancient and mighty gun.

Something shot out from the Stormbolter but instead of bolt rounds they were bolts of pure golden light. They were powerful things. Each shot shattered very fabric of matter. Struck by these terrifying psychic ammunition, not even the tough carapace of Roaches could survive a single shot. Eventually, the gun was turned upon the Ultralisk. The creature was not so easy to take down even with such psychic attacks. Shimmering purple energy field sheathed the two massive Kaiser Blades and the creature shielded its head with the broad sides of its bone blades.

Harax felt the energy he poured into the gun drain. It was almost empty of its powers, and yet the Ultralisk was charging at him. The golden light left the gun and its impact, though earth-shattering in appearance, could not break the Ultralisk that continued to stomp through toward the Librarian despite two more explosive cannon shells impacting its side.

"I do not fear you. I am a Space Marine. I fear nothing!" cried Harax in defiance as he swung his Force Axe at the oncoming Kaiser Blade.

Harax felt the entire weight of his own armor being pushed back as the sheer violence of the creature's charge delivered to him immense kinetic energy. Yet, he smiled. The previous attack with psychic ammunition was not in vain. There were cracks in the Kaiser Blades of the Ultralisk, and this clash had broken the Kaiser Blade on the left.

Kraaaaa! Raaaaa!

The Ultralisk was enraged. It could regenerate the Kaiser Blade, but given the super-dense nature of its formation, it would take a lot of energy. It deemed that consuming this warrior in front it would make the recovery easier. It was mistaken.

"You do not realize, creature, that with you around, my psychic abilities do provide me with significant advantage." murmured the Librarian as he focused his powers again, this time into this Force Axe.

Two more shells exploded upon the side of the Ultralisk in that moment, making the creature cringe a little even as the Leman Russ tanks turned their chassis around to point their forward-mounted Lascannon at the Ultralisk. First shot of Lascannon struck its left hind leg, felling the creature to its knee while the second shot struck the gaping wound made by the cannon shells. The creature screamed. It was through the incredible toughness and constitution of the creature that it remained standing. It swiped at the Librarian with its other Kaiser Blade, but the blade ran across the ghostly form of the Librarian that disappeared.

"I am here, creature." growled Harax as he reappeared right next to the joint of the remaining Kaiser Blade.

The Force Axe slammed down with more than just crackling of disruptive energy inherent in Power Weapons but encased in such righteous malice of the Space Marine that it cut through the carapace and bones of the creature. Without its two main tusks, the Ultralisk was greatly weakened, and it was enough for the Imperials. By the time Harax had dealt with the Ultralisk, most of the lesser creatures had been removed and it gave enough room for Squad Varun to aid their comrade.

Even as Harax struck the side of the still-squirming and still-dangerous Ultralisk with his Force Axe, Corporal Bavvon had approached the creature from the other side and together with Sergeant Varun heaved the heavy Melta Bomb and shoved it into the gaping wound of the Ultralisk.

"My lord, the Melta Bomb is set!" shouted Varun as he and his squad hurriedly backed off.

Harax blocked the Ultralisk's secondary tusks swung at him and quickly moved away, lifting his considerable weight up into the air and landing on one of the more intact structures nearby.

The Ultralisk roared as it briefly questioned why none of the humans were attacking it anymore. Then it knew no more as intense heat of the Melta Bomb exploding inside its flesh was enough to turn its innards instantly into vapor and that instantaneous transformation from solid to gas caused explosion that shattered its carapace into millions of pieces.

-**That was interesting.**-

Harax spun around, his gaze narrowing to a point on the other side of the village. There were still Zerg but there was something else. A creature of siginficant psychic power had arrived moments before, and Harax could not sense the creature.

"Reveal yourself."

-I will do so in time... but perhaps I could give you a little sneakpeek.-

An intense telekinetic burst shattered the building that Harax was standing on. The Librarian collapsed along with the roof, but he was unhurt, for he was a Space Marine clad in Terminator Armor. He was not so easy to wound. However, even as he stood upright he felt the ground around him tremble.

Harax growled even as the Squad Varun and a squad of Guardsmen quickly filtered through the ruined buildings to gather around him. Few meters ahead of Harax and the Guardsmen the paved road cracked. Then a spot exploded upward in a tornado of intense energy. From the gaping hole that formed on the ground a creature slowly appeared, its claws and limbs grasping the edge of the opening to lift its large form out from the dirt.

It was a large muscular humanoid creature standing a little taller than Harax in Terminator Armor. It was so very clearly humanoid for it had all the appearance of a very well-muscled human except for the carapace armor that covered large parts of its body, the two sets of Kaiser Blades protruding from behind its back like wings and the clawed fingers.

-**Greetings, Space Marine. I see you have made this far and deep into our domain.**- said the creature nonchalantly as if the bloodshed and battles on this world meant nothing.

"You speak well for a beast, creature. Are you their leader or are you some kind of mouthpiece?" asked Harax his demeanor of a Librarian returning to that of an information-gatherer.

-**I am both. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Volran of the Zerg. I command the Brood that have invaded this world.**-

Harax was puzzled. Why was this creature talking to him? All evidences indicated that the Zerg was a monstrous beastly species, yet here was a creature intelligent enough to speak coherently.

"Then you shall die upon this world. This world belongs to the Imperium, and we shall soon drive every trace of your pathetic species from this planet. It is the Will of the Emperor!"

-**I'm afraid you are mistaken. This world belongs to the Swarm. You cannot stop us. We are winning.**-

"You have very warped understanding of the word 'winning', creature. We have retaken major strategic positions around the planet. Your forces are being driven back relentlessly," said Harax, the uneasy feeling making him grip his weapons tighter. "You shall not last long."

-**Oh, I see... You humans still see things in such small scale. That will be your downfall.**- chuckled the creature.

"No... I shall be YOUR DOWNFALL! DIE XENO!" roared Harax as he launched himself toward the xeno commander.

The bolt rounds exploded upon the flaring Hardened Shield but it was meant only as a distraction for the Force Axe. Yet, the creature Volran was fast. Faster than Harax had expected, and Volran blocked the Force Axe with the long claws of its right hand which was entirely encased with glowing field of psionic energy. The two fields of energy clashed and an explosion of bright light and a storm of sparks brightened up the darkening battlefield.

-**Oh... You are strong. The Swarm will greatly enjoy devouring your essense, Space Marine.**-

"I do not think so, creature!"

With a puff of smoke, Volran disappeared and reappeared some distance away.

-**As much as I would love to continue this to the end, I have other matters to attend... such as assailing your precious fleet or that fortress by the lake.**-

Before Harax could say anything, Volran disappeared back into the ground.

"Damn it!" shouted Harax as he activated his vox communicator. "This is Epistolary Harax of the Deathwatch to '_Paladin's Blade_'. I need a connection to the Inquisitor immediately! Put the fleet on high alert!"

* * *

><p><strong><span>END OF CHAPTER 50<span>**


	51. Chapter 51

Thanks for waiting. I know you have all waited too long. It's just that my life drains me much of my creative juice, and it's not everyday that I get some time off to write. However, summer school holiday is coming, and I hope to get some writing done!

A couple of things: Please, do not underestimate the Zerg no matter how they are portrayed at a particular planet or scene. It's all part of the planet. Remember in most cases, protagonists survive... in this story, the Zerg are the protagonists.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 51<strong>

**974.739.M41**

**Unknown Location**

Everything was going according to my design thus far.

The Eldar had been lulled in false sense of security and success as I continued to feed them one victory after another. Of course, I made sure to make the victories as narrow as possible. Sometimes I would defeat them so as to prevent arousal of suspicion. They were deceptive race so they would naturally suspect deception easily, but then again I was ahead of their thinking. I simply had greater processing power in my mind. I had thrown away two Hybrid Destroyers and a single Hybrid Reaver to that cause. Though it slowly ate away at the strength of Eldar forces on the planet and they had retrieved most of the Spirit Stones, they were not away how closely they were being watched. Spylings were useless among them for the Eldar was a race of psykers who could sense the Spylings in close proximity, but a dozen Overseers from long range was enough to track every move they made.

The Imperium also fell right into my play.

They were far more gullible than the Eldar. I needed no special trick up my sleeve to get them to do my bidding. They never suspected that my Swarm would trick them into anything. They still presumed my Zerg to be mere beasts and monstrous creatures. They dared to presume too much. They had thought their victory to be something that they had achieved through force of will and martial strength. None of them had suspected that the reason their reinforcements continued to arrive without a hitch was thanks to my intervention. Strategically placed Overlord squadrons led by Overseers formed pockets of stability in Warp. The Inquisitor and his lackeys foolishly called in every favor. They sought to drive my Zerg from the planet, not realizing that the planet was already mine and it was nothing but a deathful trap for them and for the sector.

Days passed as more and more Imperial Guard regiments and Imperial fleet entered the solar system to reinforce the men on the planet. They pooled around the fortress for a while before heading out toward the front that was getting larger and more spread out as the hours passed. My Zerg fought them bitterly, seemingly fighting for survival. The bodies of the fallen Zerg were left strewn about in the fields for the Imperial Guard forces were simply too focused on taking out the Hive Clusters and major assets. They did not understand why there were so many Zerg in empty plains and random valleys. It wasn't long before the Imperials bombarded the mines in the north where the Hybrid Reaver was used to draw the Eldar out from the shadows. They shelled the hills and then sent in tanks and heavily armed infantry to slaughter the million-strong Zergling group there. Similar actions were carried out all over the planet and it seemed that my Zerg would be driven to final handful of Hive Clusters in matter of days.

They were deceived.

"**It is done, Overmind. We have lost well over nine million Zerglings across the battlefields. The humans have pushed across so far ahead that they are almost on the other side of the planet. Even at their top speed, it would take almost a week for their land vehicles to reach the fortress,**" said Volran as he cracked a vicious smile. "**Though their flying vehicles would deliver infantry, it would not be of great consequence if ****we can hold off their fleet from landing again.**"

"Of that, I can assure you that their fleet will never see the ground again…" spoke a new player.

Volran turned his head to look at the newborn. It was the Patriarch that the Overmind had personally seeded. The Patriarch that Volran had hurriedly created was an avatar for his powerful essence, but this one had been incubating for weeks and had recently broken out from the shell. Even from its first moments, the Patriarch was a powerful creature, and possibly as physically powerful as Hierarchs of the Swarm, whose avatars were truly mighty creatures sub-par only to the bodies and avatars of Commanders such as Volran or Elena.

"**Is our fleet utterly under your command, Anubis?**" asked Volran.

The Patriarch Anubis, the newly-born commander of the Zerg Swarm, nodded its almost canine-like head filled with sharp fangs and armored carapace.

"Yes, Lord Volran. The asteroid fields have proven themselves to be excellent nest for our flyers, and well hidden from their satellite network. Though I would require presence of greater bio-ships once the humans have been driven off," concluded Anubis.

Volran turned to look at the giant glowing visage of the Overmind in the form of an eye.

"**Overmind?**"

-**_It appears that all things are in order. Volran, order Zasz to divert his sixth fleet to this world._**-

"**What of remaining fleets?**" asked Volran.

-_**They shall continue with the original plan. I want Riax Sector to be invaded and conquered in a massive and coordinated attack that would take the Imperium by surprise and without a chance to fight back**._-

"**Is this wise, Overmind? This sector seems rather without merits,**" queried Volran. "**There is no special mineral resource here. There is no strategic value either. We cannot launch assault upon other Imperial sectors with impunity. It is an isolated sector beset by enemies.**"

-**_That is the point, Volran. It is isolated and it is a perfect testing ground for the Swarm against the Imperium. We are about to launch a massive galaxy-wide invasion of the galaxy, and I need to know about the capabilities of my enemies. The first test subjects are the Imperium and the Eldar, and then we shall test ourselves against the 'real' Orks and 'real' Chaos that surrounds this pitiful excuse of a sector._**-

Volran paused then nodded in agreement.

"**Your plan sounds suitable if you take that into consideration, Overmind.**"

-**_Indeed, Volran. I would soon require you back in your post, however. I cannot waste any more attention __here, and that is why I had summoned you and created Anubis to take control of the situation at hand. There are three things we must deal with. The Eldar, the Imperial ground forces and the Imperial fleet, they all must be dealt with for the endgame._**-

Volran knew I was giving him a choice.

"**I… shall deal with the Imperial fortress. I hope to test their champions,**" sneered Volran, thinking of the Space Marines that fought the Hybrid Reaver.

-_**Are you sure? This body you wear here does not befit you. It barely has the power equal to that of a Hybrid Reaver on the best circumstances, and though it would be enough to best some of them, it would not be like your real body**._-

"**I understand that, Overmind. However, it would be highly enjoyable,**" smiled the human commander of the Zerg forces.

-**_Ever a fighter, I see… Very well. You shall have the command of our ground forces here. How about you, Anubis?_**-

"I shall continue my dalliance with the flyers, Overmind. I shall harass their fleet and cripple the satellite systems and drive them back out into the cold of space," declared Anubis with confidence.

-**_Take care of your pride, young Patriarch. Remember the plan. My plan must be carried out without a mistake._**-

"Of course, Overmind."

-**_Very well, then. I shall deal with the Eldar myself. It appears that the Eldar have located what they were truly searching. I shall need most of the Hybrids I have on this world, as pitiful few as there are. How many would you need, Volran, to accomplish your siege of the fortress?_**-

"**Take as many as you need, Overmind. I shall make do with what is available.**"

-**_As admirable as your sentiment lies, Volran. I shall not have any mistake. The Virus Bombs are in the deepest, darkest and most secure underground vault beneath that fortress. Even now, the humans come closer to the Sensorium Bastion so deep in our domain. I sense their psyker… a Librarian… approaching._**-

Volran chuckled.

"**I shall deal with him. I shall speak words of great deception and he shall be the starting pistol of your plans.**"

-**_Make sure that he panics enough to call for their commanders back to the fortress. Their front must be broken if you are to truly break the Imperials._**-

"**Yes, Overmind.**"

I turned my attention away from the meeting and focused on what I needed to deal with the Eldar.

* * *

><p><em>Overmind vs Eldar<em>

**978.739.M41**

**Unknown Location**

I knew that they had found something. They found a hidden structure whose psychic enchantment had been so powerful as to hide from my gazes, as diluted as they were through the Overseers. Still, the entirety of Eldar forces had begun to move, and I sensed that they had used their vaunted Webway to relocate their base camp to where their query lied.

Set upon the slope of the tallest mounts of this world, the Eldar structure looked almost as if it was giant cannon pointed up into the sky. I did not like the look of the thing, but it was worse when the Eldar began to re-establish their camp at the base of that structure. The whole area had been melted down to reveal a carefully landscaped location that the Eldar had created many thousands of years ago. It appeared to be a naturally defensive position. They quickly established dozens of kill-zones around the path leading up to the ancient structure.

-**_Zerg! We march to WAR!_**-

My call aroused the Swarm once more.

From the deep crevices down among the hills and low mountains came Zerg of every type. Some more advanced units had to be transported from the Hive Clusters, but they were of little concern. Given the thousand-strong legion of Zerglings pooling beneath the mountain upon which the Eldar had prepared their new base, I was confident of my victory.

The only issue was that the strange Eldar structure may have contained a Webway Gate powerful and large enough for the Eldar to bring in reinforcements. However, I wasn't too concerned. I was ready for almost anything.

A Hybrid Destroyer roared as it floated from the entrance to the path up to the mountain. It was a large mountain with many winding trails that went up. This Destroyer was nothing special until this point, but I was about to use the creature. The Zerg on the ground needed a leader with stable psionic link to command them, and I had none available other than myself.

-**_COME! OVERMIND CALLS TO YOU!_**-

I possessed the Hybrid Destroyer and I felt the Khaydarin crystals within its body glow hot as they sought to contain the tiny fragment of my essence. The creature shuddered as its flesh and psionic reserve grew into incredible levels. The two pairs of psionic tentacles on the creature's back extended and stretched and their ends split into two. Now, it had eight psionic tentacles that crackled dangerous energy. The wing-like blades on its back also grew and bent joints grew so that I could use it in melee assault. Its torso cracked and burst into new and greater size and armor. Thicker carapace grew and hardened, which was new for this creature that relied heavily upon its psionic powers than physical prowess.

-**_Reavers, attend!_**-

At my command, two Hybrid Reavers escorting this body came closer. I connected into their minds and turned them into powerful psionic nodes to maintain strong control over the creatures. Hydralisks and Roaches gathered around the three Hybrids, and then four Nydus Worms appeared behind us and spewed out six Infesters.

-**_Hmmm… It would take some time for the Ultralisks to arrive. This will do for now._**-

* * *

><p>Exarch Ahrae Zir of the Dire Avengers growled behind his mask. He and the remaining Eldar forces defended the approach to the ancient Eldar weapons facility to the best of their ability and held on well against the Swarm for more than three days of unending battle. Endless and numberless Zerglings flung themselves at the heavy weapons of the Eldar arsenal while the heavier creatures dueled against the powerful weapons and fearsome skills of the Aspect Warriors.<p>

Though every inch of ground made by the Zerg had cost the Swarm ten times as many creatures for each Eldar warrior that fell, the Eldar were limited in their number while the Swarm seemed without concern when throwing away their warrior creatures at the Eldar. Again and again, the Eldar cut down scores of Zerglings and tore apart the Hydralisks and shattered the armored carapace of Roaches, and yet they still came. Walls of dead Zerg did not faze them as if they were incapable of feeling fear let alone apprehension about the number of their fellow Zerg dead.

"Guardians, to the South South West! There is a column of Zerglings leaping toward you! Fire the Shuriken Cannon!" shouted the Warlock Hevandras Ro, the last commander of the Ulthwe forces.

Even the Exarchs and Warlocks had fallen in the last several hours, their strength and endurance spent in desperation. The Warlocks cast their most deadly Eldritch spells, frying hundreds of Zergs and sending back waves of Hydralisk spines back to their kind. The Eldar had quickly found out that their ability to draw power from the Warp had increased greatly when they were around the Zerg. It wasn't anything special but the very gaze of Slaanesh had dissipated when the Zerg were around. The relief felt by the Eldar wasn't enough trade off though. The real dangerous of Zerg presence was still there, and it only had meant that the Eldar could use their psychic powers to their maximum.

The Shuriken Cannon spat out the powerful crystalline ammunition at the oncoming Zerg, shattering the Zerglings of their flesh. Even so more Zerglings were there. The winged-versions of Zerglings, known as Raptors, had led the Zerglings in a terrifying sudden strike. Sending forth normal Zerglings ahead, they had cleverly drained the Shuriken Cannon of its magazine before leaping at the Guardians manning the heavy weapon. Yet, the Eldar had foreseen such moves. Three Dire Avengers and a single Warp Spider moved in, covered by six Guardians. The Dire Avengers fired off their Shuriken Catapult with awesome accuracy, felling Zerglings and Raptors as they leapt into the air. Falling, the Zerglings were vulnerable for a moment when Guardians poured their own firepower upon the bodies. There were yet more Zerglings and Raptors though. A Zerglings had made a zig-zag move, evading the Shuriken fire from a Guardian and almost came within the range of claws.

However, the Guardian could not respond. He was firing its weapon upon three Zerglings that would move toward the Dire Avengers if they were not killed in at moment. It was but a single moment of choice, but the Guardian was saved. The Warp Spider who had stepped to the side and blinked in and slammed his Death Spinner into the Zergling, knocking it back. Then he fired his weapon, slicing the Zergling into thousands of tiny pieces and then cutting a large path of seven dead Zerglings. It was then the Shuriken Cannon was reloaded and powerful heavy firepower was laid upon the ranks of Zerglings who saw their defeat and fell back.

The Eldar did not rest nor give up caution. They had seen too many of their brothers and sisters die in such moments of relief. Indeed, their caution was not wrong. Not a moment too soon, the ground exploded. A Hydralisk and three Roaches came out from holes and came upon the Eldar. The Dire Avengers quickly went into action and plunged their Power Swords into the heads of the Roaches and the chest of the Hydralisk. The last remaining Roach stumbled back a little as the Guardians fired their Shurikens at the Roach's head. Then when the rain of Shuriken crystals ended, the Warp Spider jumped on top on the Roach and fired the Death Spinner right into the back of the Roach, at which distance not even the thick carapace of the Roach could not stop the monofilament wire fired at it.

That was but one of the many skirmishes that the experienced Warlock managed to salvage. Attacks never ceased. They continued relentlessly, each attack slowly draining the Eldar of their will and strength, and amounted to the Zerg figuring out the weaknesses in the defense of the Eldar formations. The handful of Wraithbone machines that the Eldar forces had managed to gather in their reclamation of fallen Eldar ships had done their work well, however, and they had managed to beat back entire waves by themselves.

Even as Ahrae Zir and his personal squad of Dire Avengers hacked apart a dozen Hydralisks that attempted to shoot down the four Wraithguards firing their deadly Wraithcannons at the waves of Zerg, Hevandras Ro redirected the attack upon a wave of Roaches. The thick shells exploded outward as four volatile rifts in Warp and the realspace opened up right above them, and the entropic impact that had on the flesh of the living did not fare well for the Zerg creatures. Striking Scorpions swooped down and cut down survivors of that wave of Zerg, their Chainswords cut through carapace and flesh of the creatures with plenty of gore.

"We cannot hold on much longer, Exarch," said someone even as Ahrae Zir kicked another Zergling in the head before firing a blast of Shuriken Pistol into its skull.

"Is that what you have seen, Farseer? That we would all die here?" asked the Exarch with a half-grimace.

"I cannot see that, Zir… My foresight has been blocked by this blanket of emptiness in the Warp. The Swarm stares back in this eerie place," answered the Farseer as if she was standing next to the Exarch though she was actually standing near the entrance of the ancient Eldar construction.

"You know it's the first time you have called my name instead of my title," whispered Ahrae Zir, not taking a single pause to take down another Hydralisk.

"BANELINGS!" shouted a Guardian as he and his squad fired their Shuriken Catapult at a fresh wave of Zerg that rushed at the Eldar.

The Banelings were truly banes of all living things. The massive blobs of acid came rolling and bouncing at incredible speed. The lone Vibro Cannon turned its barrel. It had succeeded in destroyed previous three waves of Banelings that came to this last defensive formation. Previous lines of defense had been obliterated days before, but now the Vibro Cannon went to work.

Vibro Cannon was perched up high next the Farseer who stood between the Vibro Cannon and D-Cannon and a small cadre of Guardians. The narrowed funnel of sonic pulse showered the score-strong squadron of Banelings whose flesh sundered and acid exploded outward. Yet, the Eldar were deceived. The Banelings were deception.

"Watch out! Zir, stand back!" screamed the Farseer through telepathy, and Ahrae Zir and his Dire Avengers explosively backward several steps when three large pods slammed upon where they had just been.

"Ah! The Infesters! I have not witnessed these in action as yet," Ahrae Zir growled, "These pods contain enemies! Destroy them!"

He and his Dire Avengers fell back along with other Eldar, pushing back the Eldar line a little, but it gave enough space for the D-Cannon beside the Farseer to aim.

The three pods were shredded by the extreme torrent of Warp and reality coalescing together into something terrifying for a single moment. Ahrae Zir saw the half-finished bodies of strange humanoid creatures from inside the pods being minced into thick paste of meat.

"There! There is the creature, my dear Zir," whispered the Farseer.

"What did you just call me?" asked the Exarch.

"Do not think I have not noticed how you looked at me. My mind's eye is keen as ever. I also know you had feelings for me since we have met all those years ago…" mumbled Seyeris. "But it is never the right time, is it? We Eldar no longer have the luxury of romance anymore."

"When we are done here, we could walk by the Crystal Dome of Biel-Tan, and wonder at its beauty," replied the male Exarch as he and his squad moved toward the giant purple grub-like creature.

The Dire Avengers took down the dozen Hydralisks guarding the Infester before plunging their blades into the grub creature.

"Could we survive this? I have doubts," answered Seyeris in a wistful tone.

"I will protect you, Seyeris."

-**_How quaint,_**- chuckled some fell voice that shook the minds not the air within the battlefield.

The Zerg Swarm momentarily relented as they retreated back a little.

-**_You have held on quite a while now. I had expected you to be slaughtered within the day, but to hold on for so long… I was impressed,_**- said the voice that rang within the minds of the Eldar.

"I know you… You are the Swarm… You stared back at me when I sought to pierce this veil. You are their master," whispered the Farseer. "Are you not?"

-**_A Farseer truly do see far and wide. Yes, I am the Overmind. I am the Lord and the Master of the Swarm._**-

"I do not understand why you hound us, Overmind. You are clearly not a mere beast but a being of great intelligence and deep thought. I have seen but a small scope of your deceptions and schemes, and have been impressed by the scale of it all," answered Seyeris. "Yet, you seek to kill us."

-**_Are you afraid of death at our claws? You know that we will consume your soul instead of Slaanesh._**-

At the mention of the Prince of Excess, all Eldar shuddered.

"Why do you seek to consume us?"

-**_Why does a predator devour a prey? You are food to us, both in flesh and in soul. We consume your bodies, we consume your souls and we consume your Essence, and we evolve. We strive for perfection, and we shall have our rightful place in this galaxy._**-

"What place is that?"

-**_We are the ranchers of this galaxy. All of you are cattle to be herded, farmed and slaughtered. We do not kill for pleasure. Take comfort in that, if nothing else soothes your despair._**-

The Eldar had slowly reformed their defensive lines while the Farseer and the unseen Overmind were talking.

"You are deluded."

-**_And you are stalling me, and for what? The Wraithlords? I already know you have found additional Wraithlords, and… you are repairing them. Of course, the clash against the Ultralisks and the Reavers have caused significant enough damage,_**- commented the Overmind. –**_And you seek to buy time._**-

"And I have bought enough time."

-**_Indeed._**-

The giant gates of the Eldar fortification opened up to reveal four Wraithlords in their full splendor. One was armed with Starcannon while the other three had Bright Lances on their shoulders.

-**_There you are._**-

The ground in front of the Eldar lines exploded and revealed the Hybrid Destroyer and two Hybrid Reavers, and two Nydus Worms that spewed out fresh Zerg troops. Variants of Zerg creatures not yet seen upon this world were on display.

The first wave was a thick line Banelings and Gorgelings, moving in a synchronized formation of death, with hidden shapes of Raptors among them. The D-Cannon and Vibro Cannon fired, opening up large holes in that wave of acid death. Still, several Banelings and Gorgelings exploded upon the Eldar lines, and some Eldar died screaming as the powerful acid seeped in between their cracked armor and dissolved their flesh to the bones. The Eldar did not falter. They fired everything they had at the new surge of enemies from all sides.

The Wraithlords strode forward to join the two squads of Wraithguards. Bright Lances pierced through the armor of the large Beetles, the Roach variant with thicker armor designed for melee combat. They had changed a little since their inception, though the Eldar knew not of it. A Beetle was now large creatures, easily as large as an Ork Nob whereas a Roach was only as big as an Ork Boy. With their thicker metallic carapace, the Beetle charged toward the Eldar lines. Even though numbering eleven in total, they led squads of Roaches that followed behind them. The Eldar heavy weapons fired once again. Four Shuriken Cannons, two Missile Launchers, two Bright Lances and a single Starcannon sent forth everything they could at the Zerg.

Bright Lances shattered the armors of Beetles and Roaches while the other weapons punctured through the flesh. Plasma Grenades were thrown upon them, and they exploded, throwing back the Zerg. Had it only been the Beetles and Roaches, then the Eldar could have stood a chance. Lurkers shuffled past the smoking corpses of Roaches and Beetles even as the waves of Zerglings harassed the Eldar. Some Lurkers were taken down, but they ignored the damages. Even as they dug into the rocky side of the mountain, more Zerg arrived. Infesters came out from the Nydus Worms and joined the fray along with the Hydralisks.

Scores of the Infested Pods rained down on the Eldar, crushing a handful of Guardians who could not evade the large pods in time. From the Pods that survived the Eldar retaliation opened up to reveal three or five Infested Warriors. The Pods with three Infested Warriors revealed two normal Infested Warriors and one extra large one. The large one was the Zerg's version of Terran Marauders. Instead of being armed with a Bone Rifle growing from the left arm and carrying Scythe Claw on the right like the Infested Warriors, the Infested Warmongers carried a single Bone Cannon that fired explosive Seeker Spores, just like the ones fired from the Spore Crawlers. This also allowed the Infested Warmongers to attack aircrafts.

Wraithlords were having great effect upon the Zerg as their Ghostglaives and Wraithswords cleaved through entire squads of Zerg creatures. Leading them all was the Wraithlord installed with the Spirit Stone of the Warp Spider Exarch Sarokidae, who had fallen in a deadly duel against yet another Hybrid Destroyer in one of the previous engagements, at which the Eldar forces had recovered the empty shell of a Wraithlord. They fused the Spirit Stone of the former Exarch and the Wraithbone-construct. He had such great rage against the Zerg.

Sarokidae's Wraithblade punctured through the chest of a Hydralisk who grabbed the head of the Hydralisk with his other hand and crushed it. Then he proceeded to send a burst of flame from the flamer installed on his left hand. Several Hydralisk spines bounced off the chest armor of the Wraithlord body, then the former Exarch almost seemed to roar and then he fired his shoulder-mounted Starcannon into the ranks of Hydralisks. The plasma ball detonated in a brilliant star-like glare, turning several Zerg creatures into ashes.

-**_You would do well to test my Reavers._**-

Sarokidae the Swarmbane spun just in time to block the downward strike of the Reaver's claw with his Wraithblade.

~Grrrrr~

The sharpened claws of Sarokidae's left Power Fist dug deep into the side of the Reaver's face and dragged it forward. The Reaver roared and swung its other claw from the side. The impact of that attack forced Sarokidae back but his shell was that of an ancient construct, of Eldar technology at its peak. A powerful energy of psychic influence covered the Wraithlord's body and parts of that broken armor slowly mended even as a Wraithguard fired its weapon at the Reaver to buy time. Struck by the powerful Eldar weapon, the Reaver stumbled backward only to charge forward and sending the Wraithguard back into a rocky wall.

By then, however, Sarokidae was ready to fight the Reaver, and plunged the Wraithsword into the Reaver's side, the shield of the Zerg and the powerful disruption field of the Eldar weapon sizzling against each other. Yet, the Reaver had walked through a hail of weapons fire and the Wraithlord had just regenerated much of its damages. Two strikes of Wraithswords was enough to punch through the shield let Sarokidae send out a jet of flames at the Reaver's face. The Reaver screamed as it was temporarily blinded by the intense flame, but it would not go down so easily. It knocked aside the flaming left hand of Sarokidae and head butted the Wraithlord.

Even as he tumbled back, the Reaver assailed the Wraithlord with aggression of a rabid dog. A flurry of claws and blasts of plasma from its mouth sent Sarokidae reeling. However, the former Exarch was not alone. The damaged Wraithguard fired its weapons at the Reaver twice before the tentacles of Reaver's back tore it into two pieces. In that moment of hesitation, the Wraithlord fired Starcannon into the chest of the Reaver and punched a hole in that chest armor through which the Wraithsword was plunged deep and hard. Sarokidae twisted the blade before cutting it sideways. The Reaver almost collapsed, its torso bloody mess, but it was not dead yet. It suddenly jumped up and bit the right elbow of the Wraithlord and wrapped itself around the Wraithlord's waist, holding it in place.

Before Sarokidae could react, a blade of pure psionic energy as dark and powerful as the empty cold of the space sliced through his shell. The Hybrid Destroyer possessed by the Overmind withdrew the blade and grabbed into the hole with its claws and ripped out the former Exarch's Spirit Stone.

-**_Impressive. The other Wraithlords could not contend that well against the other Reaver._**-

Indeed, other Wraithlords had fought the Reaver and the Reaver had sundered a Wraithlord into pieces before being killed by the combined might of two remaining Wraithlords and whole lot of Eldar firepower.

-**_Is this all you've got, Eldar?_**-

"Forgive me, Seyeris," whispered Ahrae Zir as he lunged at the Hybrid Destroyer.

"NO!"

-**_Pitiful. I shall gladly consume your soul, Exarch._**-

* * *

><p><em>Volran vs Imperials<em>

**978.739.M41**

**Near Supply Depot Haygal**

Volran chuckled as he strode forth in his mighty avatar made of a hastily spawned Patriarch. Though the body was that of a Patriarch whose spawning time had been hastened with Volran's incredible psionic energy, it still was impressive given the sliver of Volran's consciousness contained within. The Zerg were creatures of Essence, and Essence wasn't just the DNA of the Zerg but their souls. So pure were so souls, each Zerg creature contained within them a seed of a soul, each different in size and in manner that they are portrayed in the physical realm.

This concept was almost an impossible thing to explain to those not of Zerg. The Zerg was not like the Tyranids. Although the Overmind worked very much like the Hivemind of the Tyranids, but unlike the Tyranids, each Zerg was capable of individuality given time and maturity of its Essence. Moreover, the current Overmind was different his predecessor and his Essence was tied so closely with every Zerg with its own Essence. Tyranids had a weakness in a battlefield in the forms of synapse creatures, whose demises often resulted in grave tactical impacts against the Tyranids. Zerg too had similar problem in that creatures that exert psionic network such as Overminds and Overseers would cause the Zerg under their control network to go feral if these controller creatures were to die. However, the Overmind, the human-commanders, the Cerebrates or the Hierarchs could exert direct control over such feral groups of Zerg, with the Overmind's control being absolute and complete, so much so that the Overmind could literally micromanage billions of Zerg without even flinching.

This trait of control was also given to the human-commanders, Alena, Volran, Hargen and Elric. Despite the much reduced capacity, they still could exert extensive control, with Alena displaying her capability to directly control over equivalent of one hundred million Zerglings. Though Volran's powers and focus had been with direct and personal combat, thus his psionic powers has always been much weaker than Alena the psyker, he still could command approximately one tenth of Alena's capability. That was still an equivalent of ten million Zerglings, and if that was calculated in terms of the Starcraft game, it was approximately 2.5 million control points since the New Swarm maintained approximately 1 control point for 4 Zerglings. In any case, Volran had enough psionic control to activate his trap.

Currently, Volran had dropped his avatar and a small cadre of bodyguards between the front and the Rugale Fortress. He saw charred and broken bodies of Zerg everywhere. The humans unwittingly slaughtered millions of Zerglings and tens of thousands of more advanced Zerg creatures. Little did they know that the defeat of Zerg across such vast regions of the planet had been a trap in itself. With a surge of renewed Zerg retaliation that included more advanced Zerg variant encountered by the Imperials for the first time, the Imperial Guards were stuck at their current locations, and the front froze like ice unable to move forward or backwards. Volran was shrewd and he had been the one to set this trap.

"**Now, there are too few men defending the path to the Rugale Fortress, but I have my army right here.**"

With a single muttered sentence, Volran concentrated his psionic powers, as limited as they were in this pathetic avatar that was in no way a match for his real avatar created for him by the Overmind itself.

Still, there was an incredible amount of power there. Like a tsunami of crackling energy, a vast circle of psionic power radiated from Volran's avatar. Slivers and bolts of concentrated energy found themselves latching on to the fallen corpses of Overlords and Overseers taken out by the Valkyries and Maurauders employed by the Imperial Guards. These bolts of energy filled the corpse, and given such power to reawaken the Essence of the creature, physical death had very little meaning.

Although only those creatures with majority of their flesh could regenerate by the power of Volran, it was enough to awaken almost one hundred Overlords and Overseers in a fifty kilometer radius. Then Volran's power made a link with each of the controller creatures in the air even as they rose up with their flesh mending itself. These Overlords and Overseers began to spread out in a large circle, eventually covering significant area centered on Volran. Overseers visited big battlefields where skirmishes of great numbers had occurred and thousands of Zerg slaughtered by the treads of Imperial armor and beams of Imperial Lasguns, while the Overlords found themselves above smaller fields of battle.

"**Pity that I cannot extend my will any further in this crude body,**" Volran muttered as thick mucus-like sweat dripped from his furrowed eyebrows of colored carapace.

The moment that each and every Overlord and Overseer that were revived by the sheer will of Volran, the human commander unleashed his power. The whole planet seemed to shake as a vast explosion of psionic power caused minor earthquakes.

One by one, the fallen Zerg reconstituted themselves and rose from their deathbed. Some were unaffected all together, their miniscule Khaydarin Crystals having been destroyed or damaged, while others struggled to regenerate significant portion of their body, and yet there were millions of creatures rising from death. Unlike other living creatures of this galaxy, a Zerg's soul did not go to the Warp unless it was slain by a warrior of the Chaos Gods. The Swarm had experienced that more than once. Normal deaths would revert the soul back to the Overmind leaving the Essence to slowly dissipate within the carcass.

However, these fallen Zerg did not have their souls returned to the Overmind. Then where did the souls go? The answer was that they never left. Some truly died but others did not die a true death. This was a special trick that Volran applied to this whole campaign. Of the millions of Zerglings and nearly three hundred thousands of greater Zerg creatures that fell to the relentless march of the Imperial Guards, nearly one third of their number had their bodies destroyed in ways that the brain remained intact. In the deepest core of their brains was a special organ called the Posthumus Reincarnation Gland located right beneath Zerg's equivalent of human's hypothalamus. The moment enough psionic power was poured into the gland, it began to pull back the dissipating Essence back to the corpse and using the soul stored into the relatively larger Khaydarin shard inside the brain, the gland regenerated the fallen creature. Though the gland itself required significant amount of time to return to its former function, it was enough to revive the Zerg creature.

Volran deeply breathed in the feeling of millions of connections to his control. Across several large battlefields, a renewed Zerg army formed.

"**First target, the Haygal Train Depot that stands between the Delphen Grain Silo Complex and the Rugale Fortress itself. It would have significant defense upon itself, and having suffered no previous incursions, its structures would remain intact. I need to know more about its defenses if I wish to inflict such damage that I waste no time marching upon the Rugale Fortress itself.**"

Volran seemed to speak to himself, but that was far from the truth. As he ended his comments, a small group of Zerg Hunters slowly rose from the ground. The leader of this dozen-strong Hunter pack seemed to be a seasoned warrior. Its thick carapace was covered in various battle-scars including a major one running down its face.

"**Go, and seek out their leadership and slay them. Take these upgraded Banelings with you and sabotage what you can.**"

At the command of their master, the Hunter pack leader nodded and sank back into the ground, followed not only by the rest of its Hunter pack but by fifty or so of Banelings that glowed sickly fluorescent green far more than its normal brothers.

* * *

><p>The Haygal Train Depot had been a major supply depot for the Imperial Guard even during the worst of the Zerg's attacks. With the Delphen Grain Silo to the west and the rugged hills and mountains to the north and south defending the human domain against the Zerg, the Haygal Train Depot and its facilities had provided excellent staging ground and supply dump for the Imperials. Particularly because of the six-track railway that extended from the Rugale fortress to the Haygal Train Depot, from which a network of train tracks to the rest of the planet. It also worked as the last line of defense before the planetary capital itself.<p>

Designed and built by the rogue Magos in the ancient times, this facility was like all Imperial and Mechanicus facility: tough, rugged, extravagant and armed to the teeth.

Surrounding the dome-like train depot itself were two Imperial Guard Bastions of old design that allowed for greater armament upon its structure. Each Bastion was five floors high with the ground-floor being solid rockrete foundation and armored catworks reaching out to the surrounding open-air walls that protected the dome. Armed with four heavy-weapon points on each of the third and fourth floors and with a single Hydra-flak turret on its roof, these Bastions also housed five Guardsmen Squads each from which the men would come out to man the walls. Aside from the two Bastions located north-west and south-east of the dome, there were four open-air corner towers set up with powerful weapon batteries. Two of the towers were set up with Earthshaker Cannons allowing the fortification to deliver powerful and devastating strike against foes beyond the reaches of the quad-linked Lascannons set upon the other two towers.

Normally, these incredible weapons were hardly manned, and only occasional visits from the Techpriests and daily attention of the two dozen Servitors would reactivate them. However, since the invasion of the Zerg, this train depot had turned into a major supply depot for the humans, and each of the Bastions and the towers were manned by many Guardsmen and maintained by cadre of Enginseers and Servitors. Not only that, ten Saber Defense Platforms were set up on the walls to keep vigil over the surroundings. With four squads of three Sentinels constantly scouting the area, the depot seemed quite secure. After all, no large enough army could get past the strong front line and overcome the depot unless the war was utterly lost.

Little did the five-hundred strong Imperial Guard presence garrisoning the depot know that their days of comfort was to come to an abrupt and violent end.

The first sign of their deaths was the attack on Captain Vilors and his bodyguards. Captain Vilors of the Riax 88th Light Foot Regiment, 5th Company had replaced the treasonous cur that sided with the traitor General Vegin, and had been in command of the depot's defenses since then. He was a good swordsman whose skills with his chainsword was famous among the officers of the Riax 88th, and his personal cadre of bodyguards made up of three Stormtroopers and two Ogryns were all seasoned veterans. So, it came as an utter surprise when Captain Vilors, his bodyguards, two Lieutenants and the Company Commissar Bantus were all slain by the squad of Hunters exploding out from the ground just when the leadership of the 5th Company went out to inspect newly arrived Conscripts that arrived that morning on one of the lesser locomotives. The Hunters could not come out from the ground thanks to the thick rockrete foundation of the train depot, but the soft ground surrounding the depot afforded no such protection for the humans.

The Imperial Guard Captain and his retinue were slain within a minute, and before the men on the walls or near the train tracks could react, the Banelings launched their own assaults. These Banelings were not the slow and basic versions that the Imperial Guards have encountered before. These were evolved with the power of the Overmind. Over fifty Banelings that glowed in bright green exploded out from the ground and then they launched themselves into the air and flung their ball-like body at the various defenses around the wall. The Guardsmen were too surprised to see the tiny flapping wings on the sides of the curled up Banelings, and they were too shocked to notice how some of the Banelings that were shot down exploded in great big shower of acid only to spawn five smaller Banelings.

By the time that the Banelings were done, half of the Saber Defense Platforms were out of order and almost a hundred Guardsmen were dead or incapacitated, and even one of the Earthshaker cannons were damaged. The surviving officer, a lieutenant, quickly sent a dispatch on a small locomotive to the Rugale Fortress since the primary vox antenna was also destroyed by the Banelings.

Surprised at the attack, the Inquisitor had sent reinforcements. Four Leman Russ tanks, eight Chimeras and two Hellhounds were sent along with nearly five hundred more men as well as one of the War Trains, a crude mobile weapons train usually attached to the cargo trains as escorts. Mounted with a Battlecannon, two Autocannons and six manned Heavy Stubber turrets, one War Train was often sufficient as an escort on this previously peaceful Agri World.

The Zerg under Volran's command came upon the supply depot merely an hour after the reinforcements had arrived.

'Shattering Arrow' was the last of the four Leman Russ tanks defending the Haygal Train Depot. Although the two quad-linked Lascannon turrets and one of the Bastions was still fighting, the battle was almost lost. The Imperial forces held on well for the first thirty minutes against the thousands of Zerglings that covered the countryside. The lone undamaged Earthshaker cannon glowed hot and the mortars and autocannons quickly drained their ammo reserves as the relentless march of the Zerg came closer and closer.

Heavy Bolters and Heavy Stubbers mounted on the Saber Defense Platforms could not stop the waves of Zerglings and the walls fell long before the greater Zerg creatures arrived. With Zerglings upgraded to Raptors and given extra nudge with some minor upgrades, the walls were crawling with Zerglings leaping and digging their claws into the walls. Like a horrible swarm of locusts, the Zerglings CLIMBED the wall with their claws encased in minimal psi blade and their limbs strengthened by the mutations. Although they gave up Adrenal Overload and Hardend Carapace, the introduction of Psi Claw mutation and Metabolic Boost were enough to give the Zerglings ability to climb the reinforced walls.

It wasn't long before the tanks fell too. Zerglings could not hope to match the firepower of the vehicles, particularly with Hellhounds and Chimeras covering the Leman Russ tanks against being overwhelmed. They took quite a toll on the first few waves of Zerglings, but then again there were too many Zerglings. Not even the great blazes of fire spewed from the Hellhounds could stop them all when they began to surround the vehicles. With the Psi Claw mutations, the Zerglings had enough armor-piercing to shred the external armor and damage what mechanisms that could be reached with their claws. Leman Russ Tanks lasted a little longer thanks to their thick armor plating, but Chimeras fell quickly, and the Hellhounds followed suit even as several hundred Zerglings suddenly turned into cocoons to mutate into Banelings.

The quad-linked Lascannon turrets aimed low and fired their weapons at the Zerglings but they were not a good weapon against enemies like Zerglings. Indeed, the Imperial Bastions and their Heavy Bolters were far more useful in dealing with massed enemies. Yet, even the Imperial Bastions fell as the Zerglings took the walls and crashed into one of the Bastions. Those handful of Guardsmen inside the Bastion fought hard but they were quickly butchered down to tiny pieces of meat and their souls devoured.

As the Imperial realized that they had lost, the tank 'Shattering Arrow' began to retreat, crushing scores of Zerglings under its treads even as it backed up to where the War Train was shooting with everything it had. Then the remaining Bastion fell silent. The War Train began to back away along with the Leman Russ tank. The Zerglings hounded them but did not give chase, as if they were of little consequence.

By the time the two human vehicles had returned to the Rugale Fortress, all paths to the humans' capital city was cut off. Within two hours since the vehicles had retreated back into the fortress, the Zerg had amassed a great force mere kilometers from the outer-most range of Basilisks. The Fortress' Sensorium reported nearly two million Zerglings and tens of thousands of greater Zerg creatures, and their forces were growing. They did not know that the Zerg had finally circumvented the battle front using upgraded Nydus Worms, thus reinforcing the Zerg forces about to lay siege on the planetary capital.

* * *

><p><em>Anubis vs Imperial Fleet<em>

**978.739.M41**

**Extreme High Oribit of Argol II**

At the same time as Volran's assault on Haygal Train Depot, the new Patriarch Anubis began a massive counter-assault against the Imperial fleet now ruling the skies above the planet.

Although the Zerg's fleet hiding among the magnetically charged asteroid field could not be used lest they be obliterated by the ground-based laser cannons, at least until such facilities were destroyed, the new-born Patriarch had other cards.

What the Imperials did not know was that the Overmind had secretly opened several wormholes across the Riax Sector, and the main wormhole had opened in a region near Argol System. In fact, had it not been for the Virus Bombs and Overmind's plans for them, Argol System would have fallen long ago. The Zerg had already established their presence upon two undiscovered systems on the very edges of the Istandor Subsector. A violent volcanic world and a desert world, both utterly uninhabitable by humans, were quickly turned into staging ground for the Zerg. They had bred an impressive number of Zerg creatures over the decade that all attention of the Imperials were upon Argol II and the minor Zerg presence there.

The moment that Overmind had commanded Anubis to assail the Imperial fleet, a detachment of Zerg fleet stationed around the two staging-ground planets moved. By the time Volran's forces were attacking the train depot, the Zerg fleet moved out from the shadows of Argol I. Imperials had been so obsessed with Argol II that they did not notice how Argol I was silent. They simply considered how primitives this world was. They were complacent, and within hours, the Feudal World fell to the millions of Zerg that had been quietly sneaked upon the planet.

Even as the primitive sword-wielding armies of Argol I clashed against the numerically superior Zerg forces, the Zerg fleet moved toward Argol II. Finally noticing the Zerg fleet, the Imperials responded. With the exception of the Inquisitor's Black Ship '_Boundless Hate_', her escorts, the Crimson Knights' Strike Cruiser '_Paladin's Blade_' and her escorts, the rest of the Imperial fleet moved to destroy the xeno fleet.

The Imperial fleet had grown strong in the days and weeks since their first arrival. The Tyrant-class Cruiser '_Incandescence of Hatred'_, Dauntless-class Light Cruiser '_Heretic's End'_ were still there, but the fleet had grown to fifteen vessels, including another cruiser. The Lunar-class Cruiser '_Gloriosa Mortis'_ had joined the fleet along with Endurance-class Light Cruiser '_Augustos Libre'_ and five Sword-class Frigates. It was a good fleet with a nice mix of heavy and light ships.

The problem was that this fleet was facing the Zerg.

Although no Hive Ships were present, there were enough large creatures to deal with the Imperial fleet with ease. Two dozen Raidens and eight Krakenlisks led the charge while twenty six Tiamats escorted the larger creatures. A hundred Scourers and their thick swarms of Scourges were but a small fraction of the thousands of Guardians, Devourers, Corruptors and hundreds of thousands of Mutalisks and variants surrounding the one hundred strong fleet of Leviathans filled with Zerg ground troops. The capital ship of the Zerg fleet, however, was a lone Garuda with its main body easily reaching 5km in length. Glowing and wreathed in psionic flames, the Garuda had one of the few long-range space weapons, which the Zerg fleet sorely lacked.

Initial attack was committed by the Imperials. They launched their massively powerful anti-ship torpedoes at the Zerg fleet. Space-faring missiles as big as houses were launched at the Zerg fleet, and yet the Zerg were unfazed by the such display of destructive power. Raidens extended their wings as wide as they could and formed a defensive circle around the Zerg fleet. Inside the circle were the Scourers and their thick cloud of Scourges. Long before the Imperial torpedoes could reach their destination, Raidens fired their web of electromagnetic pulses, shattering the very tough electronic systems aboard the torpedoes. Of course, the Imperials knew how to build things with redundancies, and only six torpedoes stopped in their tracks or exploded mid-way. Others still headed toward the Zerg fleet.

Then the Scourers used their psionic catapults to fling entire groups of Scourges toward the torpedoes. Not even the thick armored hull of Imperial torpedoes could stop hundreds of Scourges committing deadly suicides upon their hull. One by one, the torpedoes exploded in great flares of nuclear detonation. However, the Zerg were not quite done with Scourges yet. Since it was one of very few long-ranged attacks that the Zerg fleet maintained, the entire groups of Scourges flung toward the Imperial fleet by the Scourers were something potentially dangerous. Beside that, the mighty Garuda fired its deadly ammunition.

A dozen giant spines fully evolved with various internal organs that made it as dangerous as the Imperial torpedoes except in maximum firing range. These dozen spines quickly disappeared as if they were sucked into the space in front of them. Then within seconds, they reappeared mere three thousand kilometers from the nearest Escort ship. The ship and its squad mates quickly turned their guns upon the incoming spines, and although the panic was palpable the two ships managed to react quickly enough. The two Sword-class Frigates at the fore of the Imperial fleet turned their numerous guns upon the incoming projectiles that somehow seemed to blink into existence. Larger and slower than Imperial torpedoes that reach about 60m in length, these giant spines were at least 100m in length, and they crackled with psionic energy that sheathed its surface with deadly edges of Warp Blade-like energy field as well as a single layer of powerful Hardened Shield, a standard for large Zerg creatures now.

Against such missiles, the weapons batteries exhausted themselves in defense. Oversized cannons of incredible power fired their ordinance while the linear accelerators, human-version of railguns a lost technology for the mankind, fired their own shells. Aided in part by scores of giant lascannons, plasma cannons and melta cannons, the two Sword-class Frigates set up a field of explosion against the incoming missiles. One of the Garuda spines was struck by three explosives impacts by a strafing fire of a plasma cannon, and its shield flared up against such damage when a Servitor-controlled Triple-Barrelled Turbo-laser Destructor that could easily have been set up on a Titan fired its beams of laser. Though not at all same weapon as a Titan-mounted weapon, the principle remained same, and it caused enough damage to the shield that the spine's shield collapsed. Then the spine was further hit by more laser, upon which the spine exploded in a shower of deadly nuclear blast. Three more spines met such ends, but others struck home.

Five spines struck '_Home of Faith_' and three struck '_Decadence in Glory_', and both suffered greatly. The '_Home of Faith_' lost over 80% of its Void Shield after three of the spines exploded in gruesome nuclear fire, while the remaining two spines pierced last remnant of Void Shield with ease. Then they drove into the front section of the ship, drilling into the hull until they were half buried in metal before exploding. The flare of the two nuclear explosions was too brilliant, and it crippled the Imperial ship, though its tough constitution allowed it to remain somewhat functional. The '_Decadence in Glory_' had been luckier with only three of the spines striking it and causing its shield to drain but the Void Shield did its work admirably.

By then, however, the Scourges had arrived. They were flung by the Scourer, and therefore moved faster than they would normal have done so by themselves. With each of the one-hundred Scourers having flung five hosts of Scourges each, five hundred group of fifty or so Scourges were now upon the Imperial fleet. Of course, the two Sword-class Frigates were struck first again. '_Decadence in Glory_' was quickly drained of its remaining shield as two hosts of Scourges exploded upon the Void Shield, their acid pouches causing thermal and psionic explosions. Then four hosts of Scourges struck '_Decadence in Glory_', and the result had been the whole of the ship seemed to be worn out. Nearly one-third of its exposed weapons batteries had been turned to slag while the thick hull plating had been sheared away in places where the Scourges imploded rather than explode, though both were still deadly to those caught in their deatful embrace. '_Home of Faith_' fared worse since all six hosts of Scourges struck through the remaining Void Shield. Some of the Scourges even managed to fly into the gaping wounds caused by the Garuda spines, causing internal explosions and implosions.

Had these attack been the only ones, the Imperial fleet would have won despite the possible damages, but the Zerg were not so stupid. Even with waves of spines and hosts of Scourges still fired upon and countered by great wall of flak fire, the Zerg fleet moved closer. The Imperials simply thought that the Zerg preferred boarding actions, like any xeno beasts would do. Their imagination did not help them when the Raidens did more than project short-ranged electromagnetic pulses to shatter incoming torpedoes.

The Raidens folded their wings, bent their body and concentrated their energy into the eggs they fired through their tail-end. Twenty-four Raidens fired their Warp-munition, and their judgment clouded by the endless waves of Scourges, spines and incoming swarms of Mutalisks, Corruptors and Devourers, the Imperials did not see the eggs. Hundreds of Mutalisks and Gattlisks died every minute only to be replaced by equal numbers by the Leviathans whose capacity to replace lost Mutalisk numbers played well in this battle. The Imperial attack crafts suffered greatly from the Mutalisks and Gattlisks despite the huge number of them being lost to the weapons batteries of Imperial ships. Besides, there were Devourers and Corruptors that were dangerous even to the large ships. Devourers and their strange mucus-like acid made everything sticky and slow, bogging down the weapons battery turrets and even an odd Lance Battery being stuck to a single arc or delayed in firing again. Corruptors fired their Parasite Spores at both the attack crafts and the large ships, damage both in equal measure. While the attack crafts found their pilots chewed to death by the Parasite Spore that drilled into cockpits, the large ships found their weapons battery damaged.

It was only when the lesser Zerg creatures suddenly scattered that the Imperials found it strange. At first they thought they had finally driven off the hapless creatures, but the truth was far from that. The eggs of Raiden imploded amid the Imperial fleet. With dreadful quakes in the Warp that made the psykers and Navigators anguish in pain, two dozen small but still-devastating Warp rifts opened up. Some rifts were right next to Imperial ships or inside it, thanks to open wounds left by the Zerg's other attacks. The cascading impact of the Warp's raw energy shredded the Imperial ships and their Void Shield, and only those not into such proximity could deal with the entropy of the Warp. Even so, the thousands of daemons jumping out from the Warp rift and pouring upon the hulls and interiors of the Imperial ships was not a good thing. With two dozen such rifts opening, the reality began to weaken and thin. Like holes in paper, they threatened to tear open wounds in the fabric of reality, letting forth greater evils. Then as abruptly as they had appeared, the Warp rifts closed leaving thousands of daemons stranded and withering away in the stifling air of reality.

Still, the damage was done.

The Imperial fleet was in no shape to mount proper defense as the Zerg fleet finally neared. New waves of Mutalisks and other lesser creatures swarmed the Imperial fleet while the larger Zerg ships finally made their approach.

Lances pierced carapace and flesh at such distance, and plasma seared away flesh and boiled blood. Massive cannon shells exploded upon the biological armor while the laser cannons punctured large holes. Still, the Zerg came relentlessly. Tiamats approached the Imperial ships and the one of the few Zerg cybernetic weapons began their work. Although resembling very little of the original Phase Disruptors of Protoss Immortals, the quad-linked weapon made of metal and crystal warmed up for a fight. Fed energy directly from the massive five hearts of the Tiamat, the Zerg Phase Disruptors fired. Imperial armor crumpled under the onslaught as the very matter of their armor plating disassembled like toilet paper soaked in water for a day. Then into those weakened parts drove in the tentacles. Hooked claws clad in metalic blades that blazed with the power of the Void sliced through the interior of the Imperial ships with ease, and with their own secondary brain and sensory inputs, the tentacles weaved through the internal structure of the vessels and tore out anything they deemed important. Even as the Phase Disruptor turrets swiveled around to target the incoming enemy attack crafts desperately trying to save their mother ships, the dragon-like head of the Tiamat bit into a section of the vessel. A moment later, the entirity of the vessel's primary bridge was obliterated by the massive Phase Disruptor pulse fired from the very mouth of the living vessel.

Krakenlisks did their works too. Even as one of the Tiamats was unfortunately lost to a combined lance fire of '_Gloriosa Mortis'_ and '_Heretic's End'_, the Krakenlisks moved. Three of the eight Krakenlisks turned their heading and chased the Lunar-class Cruiser '_Gloriosa Mortis'_ which was firing deadly salvos that already destroyed two Tiamats and four Leviathans, though a Leviathan was a dime a dozen at best. With their own shields countering the Void Shield even as they collided with the 5km long vessel. One Krakenlisk wrapped itself around the fore of the vessel, with another on top of the vessel and the last one on the port-side of the Lunar-class. The eight primary tentacles of Krakenlisks tightly bound the creature to the ship. Lance fire pierced the creature's flesh, but this formerly-aquatic creature was tough.

Even as the drill-tongues of the Krakenlisks began destroying the armor plating to dig into the ship itself, the thick smog of toxic gas and micro-organisms began to jam the sensors of the weapons battery, the only danger that these Krakenlisks were facing now that they are wrapped so tightly around their enemy that big guns could not fire. Well, except for the Krakenlisk at least. Unfortunately, its body was covering the hole of a Macro Cannon, which fired immediately, opening a massive gaping hole in the creature. Still, all it did was delay the inevitable. The matter-absorption beams at the roots of Krakenlisks' secondary tentacles began to dissolve the Lunar-class, mending the flesh slowly.

Within minutes, the three Krakenlisks opened a tiny hole in the armor of the Lunar-class, and from the depth of their mouths came out a bright purple beam of destructive energy. The Protoss Prismatic Beam now corrupted into a weapon of Zerg, pierced the remaining layers of armor. The beam grew stronger as the Krakenlisks held on longer. Still, the Lunar-class was not helpless. While the Krakenlisks, being around 2km in length, was big, they were still not enough to cover the whole ship. Rest of weapons battery covering the surface of the Imperial vessel turned all their guns upon the Krakenlisks. Blood flew everywhere as more and more damages were inflicted upon the Krakenlisks. Still, this gave relief to the Zerg fleet as Lunar-class' firepower was diverted. With the work of remaining Krakenlisks upon the Tyrant-class Cruiser '_Incandescence of Hatred'_, Endurance-class Light Cruiser '_Augustos Libre'_ also diverting Imperials' firepower, the rest of the Zerg fleet was moving easier.

Then even as one of the Krakenlisks finally died and exploded in a brilliant self-destruction of bio-fusion implosion and a shower of acid, two Leviathans had made their way to the Lunar-class. Hiding within the thick cloud of sensor-blinding smog, the two Leviathans plunged their tentacles into the interior of the Lunar-class vessel. Torrents of Creep and fast-moving waves of acidic smoke set up a path for the Zerg forces within the Leviathan's belly to board the Imperial ship. With most of its troops on the planet, the Imperial ships were quickly overwhelmed by the endless waves of Zerg pouring through every corridor, every crevice, every hole, every duct and every room.

By the time a single Sword-class Frigate and Cobra-class Destroyer finally made a break for it and retreated to the planet, the Zerg had not only destroyed most of the Imperial fleet but had successfully boarded three of the largest ships, the Tyrant-class Cruiser '_Incandescence of Hatred'_, the Dauntless-class Light Cruiser '_Heretic's End'_ and the Lunar-class Cruiser '_Gloriosa Mortis'_, although the other successfully boarded vessel Endurance-class Light Cruiser '_Augustos Libre'_ committed a catastrophic self-destruction, causing the destruction of a large chunk of Mutalisk swarm, half the Scourers and Scourges, all but one of the Krakenlisks, six Leviathans and four Tiamats as well as crippling the Zerg-controlled Tyrant-class vessel.

* * *

><p><em>Imperials<em>

**978.739.M41**

**Planetary Capital – Rugale Fortress**

The Inquisitor growled as he looked down from the highest tower of the Fortress' inner sanctum. He saw the vast carpet of enemies pooling just beyond the range of the Earthshaker Cannon's range. He knew that the very moment that the Zerg felt ready, the assault would begin. Although he had the orbital weapon in hand and the ground-based laser cannons to destroy the any enemy fliers between the planet and the satellites from harming the satellites, he could feel a sense of foreboding.

One thing, the only thing that made him pleased was the discovery of the Virus Bombs. Digging through the archives, the members of Mechanicus finally discovered the location and the activation code of the Virus Bombs hidden in the secret vault beneath the fortress.

"If the worst scenario plays out, then I will be forced to use it."

What worried him was that there were still eleven bombs in that vault and such weapons were not lightly touched.

"What are you waiting for, xeno fiends?"

* * *

><p><em>Overmind vs Eldar<em>

**978.739.M41**

**Unknown Location**

Overmind was about to crush the life out of the Exarch Ahrae Zir now lying sprawled upon rocky ground.

-_**Okay... that was unexpected.**_-

Clad in modified Hybrid Destroyer body, the Overmind looked up as the Eldar Temple's gate opened again. It made him pause. A single powerful entity stirred inside the structure. It was powerful enough to halt the Overmind's actions.

-_**So... that's what you Eldar were really hiding in there...**_-

The Farseer ran and crawled to her lover and held him tight.

"You will die by the bloodied hands of a god, foul thing."

-_**A god...**_-

Overmind seemed to hesitate before he cracked his equivalent of smile.

-_**I wonder if he will be as tasty...**_-

* * *

><p><span><strong> END OF CHAPTER 51<strong>


	52. Chapter 52 - 2nd Arc End

Thank you for waiting, and here is the next chapter and the end of Arc 2.

We will now be returning to Arc 3 after an intermission... which will be made up of episodic chapters involving how the Zerg are setting up shop around the galaxy.

I am sure there will be many questions asked about the ending of this chapter and what happened to Anubis the Patriarch, and what's up with the Silent One?, what's with the Farseer?, and will Judanus be returning?

These questions must wait so that they can be unspooled at the right time.

Some hints though... Anubis does not die, and he will return. Silent One is a major plot point later on. The Farseer will also play a major part in dealing with the Eldar. Finally, Judanus Subplot will surprise you all.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 52<strong>

_Overmind vs Eldar_

**978.739.M41**

**Unknown Location**

Giant burning feet scorched the very ground they stepped on. Drips of blood both real and ethereal at the same time dripped to the ground, leaving a trail of gore that seemed to contain infinite sadness.

-_**I know of you.**_-

Overmind smirked as he eyed his newest opponent. The very presence of its enormous presence gave remaining Eldar strength to fight again while the Zerg, instinctively psionic creature by nature, cowered a little.

-_**The Bloody Handed God of the Eldar...**_-

The great blade sang its sorrowful and fearsome whistle and the aura of immolation shook the very reality around it. Seeing the being striding forward to meet him, the Overmind also drew from the well of his power. The Hybrid Destroyer form convulsed and grew to match the size of his opponent, its glowing flesh darkening and turning solid in places.

"I AM KAELA MENSHA KHAINE~! I WALK AGAIN!"

The Avatar of Khaine roared as its flames spewed from between the thick iron plates that formed his golem-like body.

-_**Come then, Khaine! Let me taste your fiery blood! Let me chew upon your metallic flesh! Let me savor your undying god-soul!**_-

The claws glowing in deep purple energy extended, the tentacles swirled around in their own nimbus of destruction. The Overmind knew that this was a dangerous fight. Though even if the Avatar of Khaine wins the fight and slay this body, the Overmind would not be seriously hurt. It would be no more than getting some nasty paper cut, but it would have serious repercussions to the Zerg on the planet and surrounding space that are fully ready to swallow the entire Riax Sector in a single bite. The impact of Overmind's own avatar being destroyed by a powerful psychic manifestament such as Khaine was something very serious.

The Eldar got back up. Their number dwindled but their resolve was renewed and set aflame. Only the wounded Exarch Ahrae Zir and his lover Farseer Seyeris remained unmoving, only their gaze following the battle-to-be. Even as the battle resumed around them, a Hybrid Reaver charged at the Avatar of Khaine. It was the will of the Overmind to see what that Avatar was capable of.

Two swift strokes of Reaver's attacks were blocked so easily by Khaine, and the Overmind was surprised at the speed of its reaction despite the size and composition of its iron flesh. Then the Wailing Doom struck. The Reaver screamed as the burning blade of a god struck down its shield with but a single stroke, and it was no easy feat even if the Reaver had handled many Eldar before this. Then the powerful weapon of the Eldar god struck again, this time, the Reaver bled. A large gash appeared across its body and blood exploded from the wound before the wound was cauterized. Yet, the burning fire that cauterized the wound did not stop. It kept eating into the Reaver's flesh. Tentacles flew and struck the Avatar, and Khaine stumbled a little but unfazed. The Eldar god roared and from its mouth came a torrent of sizzling air hot enough to fry a man. Indeed, it was enough to temporarily blind the Reaver before the Wailing Doom skewered its brain from under its jaw.

What surprised the Overmind wasn't that the Reaver was defeated, but that the soul of the Reaver did not return to Overmind as hole. It returned fragmented and charred and twisted, as if the flames that wreathed around the Avatar burned more than flesh and bones. The Essense immolated on the spot, fueling the Avatar further. The Overmind growled.

-_**Impressive feat, Khaine, but I am GREATER!**_-

With a focus of his will, the Overmind sent forth a torrent of psionic pulse translated into spatial distortion. It was similar in principle with Phase Disruptor of the Protoss, albeit highly focused due to its organic origin. Khaine was no easy picnic. Screaming incoherently, the dead god of Eldar slammed his right foot into the ground, and the ground exploded upward and volcanic walls of stone and lava shot up and formed a blockade that shattered against the Overmind's attack.

"KHAINE'S ENEMIES WILL PAY WITH THEIR LIVES~!"

Khaine made a great leap at the Overmind, jumping over the exploding stone wall and landing right in front of the Overmind's avatar. The two avatars of greater beings stood face to face for a single moment, and in that moment their minds collided in a destructive storm of rage and hunger, neither giving an inch. The empty left hand of Khaine curled up into a fist and slammed into the side of the Overmind's face, and at the same time the four of the tentacles of the Overmind's back crashed into the chest of Khaine. Both god-like beings were flung apart, Overmind to the side and Khaine backwards.

They stood back up, and charged at each other. Two swipes of tentacles were blocked by the Wailing Doom, the Warp Blade sheathing the tentacles crackling against the god's weapon. The Wailing Doom quickly followed its parry with a devastating thrust, against which the Zerg's own god responded by formed a large ball of psionic lightning that sent forward such immense and intense electromagnetic pulse that even the Bloody Handed God was pushed back along with its sword. Then the Overmind shot that bolt of lightning at the Eldar god, shattering several pieces of its glowing iron flesh.

Khaine did not hesitate to retaliate. A swing of its sword sent a wave of intense heat that burned at the flaring shield of the Overmind's body, then the next swing brought forth a wave of lava sprayed at such velocity that it may well have been rains of cannon shells. The Overmind took three steps back in the aftershock of his enemy's attack, but he did not falter. Launching himself forward once more the Overmind slashed at Khaine with such speed and ferocity that the Eldar God of War blocked all but two such attacks. The energy of the Void encasing his talons made short work of a large chunk of Khaine's chest and his shoulder armor. Khaine fought back by punching his sword hand into the face of the Overmind, the guard his sword meeting the Overmind's face first. The shield flared but the physical impact aside, the psychic attack was enough to make the Overmind step back once more.

Khaine sought to strike at the Overmind once more, but this time, the Overmind managed to grab Khaine by his wrist as the blade came down and bit into the left shoulder of the Overmind, bypassing the shield as if it was nothing. The blood boiled and flesh charred, yet the Overmind was the lord and master of the Zerg, and his will was that of a god. Still holding the right wrist of Khaine, the Overmind's right hand grabbed Khaine's face and tackled the Eldar god's leg. Then using that momentum, the Zerg god shoved the Eldar god into the ground with such impact that the Zerglings and Eldar corpses scattered into an explosive burst.

Still, the Eldar god was no stranger to martial arts. While the Overmind had used something akin to human martial arts, the Eldar god was a master of its own martial arts. Even as the Overmind lifted Khaine's face up to slam it down again, the Eldar god kneed the Overmind, sending the Avatar of the Overmind sprawling across the mountainside. Instantly, four tentacles tried to spear the god, but Khaine was already back on its feet and slashing at the tentacles, clashing against the Warp Blades and managing to cut off one tentacle. The Overmind was not ready to give up because it became a brawl. He launched his body into the belly of Khaine, sending both down on to the ground with a massive thud that destroyed the damaged form of a Shuriken Cannon platform.

Both god-like beings punched, kicked and bit to victory. Yet, the true battle was that of psionic versus psychic, and the psionic, being both purer and concentrated in nature, won out. The Overmind's right claw dug deep into Khaine's chest even with the Wailing Doom having pierced his belly. Sharp teeth of the Overmind's avatar then took a large chunk out from the side of Khaine's neck.

"KHAINE!"

With that last word from Khaine's avatar, the Overmind's mouth opened and fired a concentrated burst of Phase Disruptor, shattering Khaine's head shattered like a jar of broken glass. Victorious, the Overmind was weary and his avatar was so gravely wounded that even a single Wraithlord could easily finish off his avatar. Indeed, damages suffered from the Wailing Doom severed many strands of connection between the Overmind and his avatar, and he could barely control its grievously damaged form.

-_**I will savor your soul, Avatar of Khaine!**_-

"No, I think not."

The Overmind's massive body was flung aside by an immense psychic impact. Farseer Seyeris had formed a nimbus of great psychic power around herself.

-_**How? You were exhausted.**_-

"So are you. Your form has been so greatly weakened that I can slay you right here at the cost of my own demise. We are the Eldar, we will not be defeated by a butcher like you!"

With that, she flung another bolt of telekinetic burst that imploded upon contacting the Overmind's left leg.

-_**Argh! You dare, little bitch!**_-

Angry roar was followed by a retaliatory bolt of Phase Disruptor, destroying the ground around Seyeris, yet she was untouched. Her body crackled in a nimbus of psychic power so intense as to shred the very space around her.

-_**How? You cannot muster such powers by your own soul... Ah... Your kinsmen sacrificed themselves.**_-

The Overmind could now see a dozen Spirit Stones floating round above her head, and in his vision he could see the souls inside them being used up like fuel.

-_**It is not enough to stop me or my children.**_-

Indeed, a fresh wave of Zerg creatures were climbing the mountain even as they spoke. Seyeris chuckled as she waved at the Zerg and they were torn into pieces by such overwhelming telekinesis.

"I can certainly buy enough time to recover our Avatar of Khaine and finish you off."

Few surviving Dire Avengers carried near-unconscious form of their Exarch and the shard of Khaine from the fallen form of the Avatar. They took with them as many Spirit Stones with them even as they disappeared into the ancient temple. Still, the Farseer stopped the Overmind from interfering.

-_**You are down to your last two Spirit Stones to burn, Farseer. You will be powerless against me the moment you use up the last one.**_-

"Already most of my kin have entered the safety of the temple."

-_**Do you think that the temple will protect them against me?**_-

"It's not really a temple."

Then there was a flash of light that shot out from the top of the temple into the space above. The Overmind could feel the Eldar ships above, hiding from his vision, but their presence in the Warp felt like tiny sparkles in thick mud.

-_**You have sent them away. Clever... but my Zerg will chase your ships.**_-

"Not before I destroy you."

-_**NO!**_-

The two last Spirit Stone burned. The price was paid. Souls of two Eldar had been sacrificed. The avatar of the Overmind screamed as its flesh was picked up into the air and pulled out to all direction. The creature exploded in a massive shower of psionic energy and physical gore. The impact was such that the Eldar temple shattered as if made of glass, and Seyeris fell unconscious and did not notice the gentle rain of pure psionic energy blanketing her. Yet, before the Eldar ships above could do anything, more Zerg came. Devourers and Corruptors were coming right behind swarms of Mutalisks. The Eldar ships fled, their vessels disappearing into puffs of illusion.

* * *

><p><strong>978.739.M41<strong>

**New Char - Zerg Homeworld – Overmind's Nest**

-_**Ouch...**_-

The Overmind groaned as the connection to his avatar was severed in such violent manner. Although the amount of consciousness poured into the avatar was but a tiny fraction of the whole, the very impact of the avatar's death was an immense impact. For a moment, he had lost all connection to the Zerg near the detonation point. Had he invested more of himself into the avatar the impact could easily have been planet-wide.

-_**At least I know what to expect from an Avatar of Khaine. I nearly lost the battle. Two more strikes of that sword would have severed all my connection to my own avatar... and the result would still be a devastating destruction of that body.**_-

His focus resumed to reconnect with the Zerg creatures near the battlefield. They had become utterly feral for a few minutes as all connection to the Overmind was severed for them as well. The level of impact was magnitudes greater than when a Patriarch or Matriarch dies, and perhaps greater even than when a Hierarch dies.

-_**My beloved children... now must... Wait... Is that... The Farseer... she lives.**_-

The Overmind paused. Then he chuckled darkly.

-_**Now I think I can do something fun with her. Children, recover her. Keep her sedated and bring her to Hepsilon Sextus. I think Hargen could use a good female companion for a while.**_-

* * *

><p><em>Zerg vs Imperials<em>

**988.739.M41**

**Planetary Capital – Rugale Fortress**

It had been over three days, and the fortress held strong. Though the cost of defense had been significant, the walls were impregnable while the guns of the defenders forced the Zerg back with their relentless shooting. Yet, the Zerg were as relentless in their assault too. With their numbers continuing to swell from the Nydus Worms that crept closer each day, Volran did not allow the humans to rest. The battle literally lasted three days and nights, no minute without the sound of gunfire.

Volran knew very well that the fortress would not run out of munitions anytime soon. Even with over 70 hours of endless combat, the manufacturing capability within the walls was enough to fulfill the need of the guns. Volran was not aiming for that. He also knew that there were enough Imperial Guards and the Planetary Defense Force to man that walls even with the cost of nearly six thousand men a day. The waves of Hydralisk spines, Baneling bombardments from the precious few Banelords that brought up the rear of the Zerg army, and the entire fields of Zerlings climbing the wall were enough to cause such damage to enemy's manpower, but Volran knew that it was nowhere enough to break the will of the enemy.

No, he wasn't looking for any of that. Instead, he was looking for the most basic engineering fault. Then in the morning of the third day, the first sign of fatigue began to show among the guns and cannons of the humans. It was true that the Imperium utilized such weapons so sturdy that they could fall into water and roll in the sand and yet work perfectly. It was also true that they could see constant action over a week and still no problem would come. Some weaker weapons such as Lasguns may require barrel exchange after a while, but weapons such as Earthshaker Cannons, Heavy Bolters and other heavy weapons were made of resilient materials. However, not even these weapons could face the rigor of over 70 hours of continued use. If they had rests and breaks in between, they would have lasted many more days without concern. The Zerg did not give such chance.

First ones to fail were the quad-Heavy Stubbers set upon the Saber Defense Platforms. Installed on the lowest level of the wall's open defense area, these guns complimented the Autocannons, Heavy Bolters and Lascannons on the same level. Numbering in the ratio of 4-to-1 for each of other heavy weapons, the Heavy Stubbers numbered nearly two hundred. However, as their barrels glowed beyond the ability of its metal content to withstand, they began to fail. Not only that, the sheer temperature within the gun caused the munitions to explode. Unlike the Heavy Bolters which had sophisticated technological lock against such overheating, these Heavy Stubbers were primitive weapons, and one by one, they failed.

Then as the battle continued well into the fourth day, the Autocannons began to fail, not because the overheated barrels but because of the ammunition that exploded within the barrels. Had these shells been in good conditions or made with superior materials and technology, they would not have failed. Yet, these stored munitions had been of inferior quality. Although the shell's damage power was within acceptable perimeters and the range of the shells were enough to barely be accepted, they weren't designed to be used in a battle that kept on going straight through over 80 hours.

Around 95 hour mark, the first Lascannons and Heavy Bolters began to fail, although such things were rare in sight. Only the weapons brought to the planet by the Imperial reinforcements were strong enough to withstand the rigors of the continuous battle while the planet's own manufactured weapons were of less resilience. Then, as the massive moat that circled the fortress' exterior began to overflow with the dead bodies of the Zerg, one of the Earthshaker Cannons located deep within the walls exploded.

The Imperial defenders had placed twenty five Earthshaker Cannons within the walls deep enough to defend the cannons against enemy artillery while keeping enough firing range against the enemies. Divided into five groups of five cannons, they served as much needed fire support against the Zerg. Only weapons that guaranteed kills against Ultralisks were the heavy artillery, as Lascannons were too busy shooting down Hydralisks and Roaches to focus enough fire upon the lumbering beasts. When there were lone Ultraliaks, the job fell to the twelve Manticore Batteries or the eighteen Medusa Siege Tanks. However, as the moat began to fill more and more with dead Zerg, the Swarm began direct assault against the main gate using groups of Ultralisks. They had to be taken out with Earthshaker Cannons.

Now, if there had been no other variable, the battle would have continued on in this manner. Unfortunately for the Imperials, by the 76th hour, the Inquisitor and his commanders agreed to turn all the orbital weapons satellites to turn their guns on the Zerg fleet now heading toward the planet instead of facing the planet. When the commanders of the Imperial forces received the news of their fleet's defeat, it came as a massive surprise and an alarm. They now realized that the Zerg infestation was not localized. The encroachment of the Zerg had been silent and hidden, and only now they had revealed themselves. Decisions were made, and now time became a factor.

* * *

><p>"We must take the fight to the enemy. I have located their leader. I have fought him, and I sense him. He is vulnerable now more than ever," said the Epistolary Harax as he gripped the Force Axe in his hand.<p>

"It's lucky that our forces have turned back. Our reports suggest almost thirty Baneblades still remain in service and they are pushing through enemy blockade. This has split their forces," spoke Hadrian as he rubbed his chin, scratching the thin beard he had grown in the last few days when there weren't enough leisure to shave. "I cannot see any other way, but to retreat from this world. This world is lost."

"You give up too easily, Inquisitor, but even I think this is a lost cause..." agreed the Veteran Brother-Sergeant Ser Henri de Arignon of the Crimson Knights.

"I do no like turning tail against such enemies," growled Chaplain Matoras, but he too realized the futility of the battle, "Is there anything we can do? We have so many men!"

There was a silent, unspoken gloom in the command center of the fortress.

"As our guns are weakened and failing, the casualty rate has risen to nearly thirty thousand each day," explained Cyrus, "This rate is going to rise steeply, and even then we shall be forced to the inner sanctum within the week."

Henri slammed his fist on to the table.

"A week is good! A week will give our men to withdraw completely from the front, and..." roared the Crimson Knight, but his voice lacked conviction.

"You know that our main forces have been sandwiched between the blockading Zerg and the Zerg from the front. We are layered now. The blockading Zerg are trapped between the fortress and our main force, while our main force is trapped between the two Zerg forces. The only difference is that we are on the defensive, and they number in the millions," rebuked Cyrus, and all deferred to his cold and calculated assessment of the situation.

Hadrian turned to the silent member among them.

"Captain Titus, what is your opinion in this?"

Sitting in the shadows, Titus had been meditating deeply, running through scores of scenarios he could have run this battlefield. Then he shook his head.

"I have been pondering," whispered Titus in tired voice, "and I cannot see any scenario that we can win. We had been within an elaborate and deadly trap long before we had arrived. I do not know how, but everything we have seen and heard and experienced here... was a trap of massive scale."

"Then what do you suggest?" asked the Inquisitor.

"I agree with Epistolary Harax. Taking out their leader would give pause to the Zerg, and with that, we can perhaps purchase precious time to evacuate," answered Titus.

"You realized that we do not have enough ships to evacuate the whole planet. There are some civilian ships but they won't be enough to take up the millions of civilians," said Matoras.

"We save what we can. This is a campaign, not a single battle. We must look at long term perspectives of this war. Every soldier out there is a veteran of this Zerg War, and they will be extremely valuable," muttered Titus his gaze darkening at his own words, "when the war comes to the heart of the Imperium itself."

There was a silence, and silent nods. All of them were Space Marines, and an Inquisitor. They knew to sacrifice the lives of civilians and Guardsmen to save the important things. The value of a human life was very little when it came to this kind of decision.

"Then it is decided... We shall save what we can... meanwhile, we need to take out their leader," concluded the Inquisitor.

"I shall prepare what remains of my Terminators, given how rest of our Chapter's forces here are with the main army," added Henri.

"This cannot be done with large number of men. That will draw too much attention. We need to strike fast and with a small but elite force," said Cyrus, "I have four of Crimson Knights' Scouts who are now well-versed in fighting these creatures. They will be of help with sniper fire."

"This could be dangerous for such lightly armored forces..." muttered Matoras.

"We do not have any more Space Marines to spare, Chaplain."

"You are correct in that, Sergeant Cyrus, but I cannot help but feel the unease of all this," replied Matoras bitterly.

* * *

><p><em>Volran vs Space Marines <em>

**995.739.M41**

**Supply Depot Haygal**

It began to rain, and soon it became a storm. It was a lucky weather, or was it because of the immense psychic spell cast by the Inquisitor? In any case, it was enough to halt the Zerg from crossing the moat to the fortress. It was also enough for the handful of the Emperor's Finest to fly over the Zerg blockade. Two Thunderhawks and four Valkyries exploded out from the black clouds before heading west.

"There... I see him in my mind's eyes," growled Harax, for his hatred for the Zerg commander was great indeed.

"Calm yourself, Librarian. We cannot make a mistake here," chided Titus even as he checked himself one last time.

Titus and Harax were clad in Terminator Armor on loan from the Crimson Knights, taken from the fallen Terminators and painted in the colors of the Deathwatch. Indeed, this was the first time that Titus finally donned an armor in that black and silver color.

"What I do not understand is why you would want to clad yourself in such bulky armor when you know your enemy's claws will cut through you as easily, while their speed is not something you can ignore," muttered Matoras as he twisted his neck as a stretch.

"The agility is what we need you for, Chaplain. Rest of us will force the creature into a corner and take the brunt of the attack," answered Titus.

"Here we go!" shouted Harax as the vessel descended.

They had landed not far from the Train Depot Haygal, where the enemy leader was detected. The rain was terrible as the storm became larger and larger, spanning across the continent.

Captain Titus and Epistolary Harax in Terminator Armor were followed by Chaplain Matoras and four Scouts led by Sergeant Cyrus. The other team was Sergeant Henri de Arignon and five Terminators, two of whom were Assault Terminators. They also had the support of a full squad of Catachans and a full squad of Stormtroopers, tasked to aid the Space Marines in killing the enemy leader.

Carefully, they had made their way into the ruined and broken place. In such short time, the Zerg had utterly shattered the train depot and covered much of it in Creep and other Zerg biomass. Still, they moved on, and on the way, Sergeant Cyrus and his Scouts melted into the shadows and disappeared. All knew that they were going to set up good sniping positions.

"Stop!" gestured Titus into his communications port, and everyone stopped, "Librarian?"

"He is here... in the heart of the complex, and there are other creatures... but few."

"Alright... spread out."

It was not night yet, but the sun was waning, and the dark storm clouds above did not help with the lighting. Still, such trivialities mattered little to the Space Marines and their keen eyesight aided by the Power Armor's sensors. Amid the darkness, the half-ruined structures felt eerie as much as the abandoned trains that now sat silently in their rusting tracks.

"I see him. I see him now..." Harax growled.

Titus turned the corner and he saw the humanoid Zerg. Titus knew that this was a trap or at least a brazen arrogance on the part of his enemy.

"**Welcome, Space Marines.**"

"So, you have been expecting us," answered Titus as he stepped forward with Harax to his left and the squad of Stormtroopers behind him.

"**Indeed. I have felt your presence as your vessels landed nearby. Honestly, I didn't think you had such peace of mind to attempt such bold attack when you are so harassed by my forces,**" chuckled the Zerg commander.

"This is a trap then?"

"**Oh, no~! If it was a trap, then you and your friends would have died without even seeing my shadows. This is a fight... a fight I longed for...**" replied the Zerg leader before he shook his head, "**Where are my manners? I am Volran, the Lord of this group of Zerg. One among many.**"

"I am Captain Titus of... the Deathwatch. I will bring Emperor's Justice upon your foul xeno soul today!"

Volran stood up from his throne of bones and flesh, and stretched himself out. Titus narrowed his eyes behind the helmet of the Terminator Armor as the chair that his enemy had seated himself began to unfold. Like giant snakes uncoiling, two Hunter Killers unfurled themselves into guarding position. Stormtroopers spread out, taking their own positions behind rubble that rose to their waist. Titus and Harax gripped their weapons tighter as Volran and his Hunter Killers standing on top of the mount of rubble and human corpses began to move. Then more Zerg came out from among the ruined structures, fallen walls and destroyed vehicles.

"TO WAR!"

"DIE XENO!"

"**Come, Space Marines... We shall have a great fight!**"

Zerglings and Roaches exploded from the ground, and Hydralisks came out from behind charred form of destroyed Chimeras. Terminators of the Crimson Knights, who had gone around to attack Volran's rear were immediately beset by the Zerg, and they fought with everything they had. Catachans that assailed the left flank along with Chaplain Matoras sought to punch their way to Volran, only to be stymied by Roaches and Hydralisks. Stormtroopers behind Harax and Titus fired their powerful guns while the sniper fire from Cyrus' squad took out Hydralisks coming from the right flank of the battle.

Within that chaotic battlefield, Captain Titus and Epistolary Harax called for a challenge.

Harax was the first one to strike, sending forth a torrent of bolter fire from his Master-Crafted Stormbolter, only to have the bolt rounds to shatter against the skin-tight shields of Hunter Killers that blocked the path to their masters. Hunter Killers replied to the attack by sending a wave of psionically charged spines wreathed in bright purple flames. Yet, the Librarian was not an easy target. His eyes glowed and a wall of telekinetic force exploded into existence, bouncing off the spines before Harax reached at the Hunter Killer to Volran's left with his Force Axe.

Laden with his psychic power and protected by the energy field of a Power Weapon technology, the Force Axe should have sliced through the Hunter Killer with ease, but the shield surrounding the elite Zerg creature was too powerful. Sparks and great flashes grew from the two strikes with the Force Axe. The Hunter Killer reared up and slashed down with its claw, its edge glistening in purple energy. The thick materials of the Terminator Armor could not fend off such attack without damage. Though the much more powerful energy pack and the polarization matrix protected the thick armor plates against such attacks, it wasn't enough. The toughened layer of adamantium, ceramite and plasteel could not hold against the molecule-disrupting power of the Warp Blade.

It was only the skill and experience of the Space Marine Librarian that saved his from having his left shoulder sheared off. It drew a little blood but it was literally a scratch. In return, the Librarian fired off a blast of bolt rounds into the creature's chest, forcing the creature back as the shield ran out and little blood and bones exploded out from the chest as the carapace caved, but not broken. Indeed, a Hunter Killer was a tougher creature than Hydralisks by far. Bleeding but still breathing, the creature used its right claw to pierce the open face of the Librarian even as the Force Axe flew toward the Hunter Killer's side. The Iron Halo and focused psychic power met the pointy end of the claw and they held in the air for a moment before the disciplined will of the Librarian broke the creature. The end half of the creature's right claw exploded into shards as the will of the Librarian manifested itself into powerful telekinesis that exploited the strain it felt against the energy field of the Iron Halo.

Titus also faced a Hunter Killer. The other Hunter Killer came upon Titus fast. However, the Hunter Killer underestimated Titus and went in for a melee combat. With a Master-Crafted Power Sword slamming into its face, the Hunter Killer was knocked aside though its shield protect the head from shattering into pieces. Resilient, the Hunter Killer roared and sought to charge Titus once more, this time slashing at him with its claws only to be blocked by the crackling Power Sword, then Titus fired his Plasma Pistol into the creature's belly, sending it back screaming. It was in that moment that a third Space Marine joined the fray. Veteran Brother-Sergeant Ser Henri de Arignon the Marquis of Ceaux had finished off the three Hydralisks that ambushed him and came to aid his Deathwatch brothers. Armed with a Thunder Hammer and his legendary Power Fist, this Terminator Sergeant relived his Assault Terminator days once more, and pounded at the Hunter Killer.

Now it was Volran and Titus, face to face, as the Zerg commander looked down from his high place to Titus in Terminator Armor.

"**Impressive, Space Marines... quite...**"

Titus did not imagine the strength and power of this creature. Had he done so, he would not have been so prideful in his steps. Volran moved so incredibly fast for a creature as big as Titus clad in Terminator Armor, and kicked Titus solidly in the chest. Titus felt every ounce of that impact, and he was flung back. Depite the seemingly lack of weapons, the Zerg commander had such strength, speed and other ungodly powers. Bolts of plasma were dissipated even as Volran and Titus neared each other once more, this time the Power Sword striking the creature in the chest, flaring the defiant shield with the stroke. Then the clawed hand dug into the armor plating of the Terminator Armor, shredding the metal until Titus knocked aside that hand.

What Titus did not realize was that Volran was the Lord of Ultralisks, and his combat relied on his brute strength more than anything. The other hand shot forth and grabbed Titus by his helmet. Titus tried to resist and struck the creature with his Power Sword. Ignoring the flaring shield, Volran lifted Titus up. The enormity of Volran's strength was felt by Titus and more so when the Zerg commander threw Titus to the side. The Terminator Armor crashed into the side of a ruined Manticore Tank, further ruining the destroyed vehicle. Titus lost consciousness for a few seconds and he realized that his helmet had been ripped out. Even from the distance, he could see Volran crunching up the torn-out helmet.

"**You are strong, but not strong enough. I shall show you strength!**" shouted Volran with an evil sneer.

Yet, that sneer did not last long as Henri buried his Thunder Hammer into the back of Volran's right knee, sending the Zerg command to kneel.

"Your strength lies false, xeno!" roared the Crimson Knight as he sought to pulverize the head of Volran.

"**Worm! Truly pitiful is your attempt!**"

A storm of lightning exploded as Volran's palm grasp the head of the Thunder Hammer, and the two weapons dueled desperately. The sharpened chitinous claws cracked and splintered even as the adamantium alloy that made up the hammer's head began to warp. Henri's Power Fist came down in trying to break the stalemate, only to be caught by the other hand. Suddenly, muscles of Volran's already thick arms began to pulsate and pump up, and it was only moments later that Henri found himself flying in his Terminator Armor and crashed into a Hydralisk and a Zergling, killing both of lesser Zerg creatures.

Still, Volran did not have the time to react to yet a third attacker. Harax the Dark Angel Librarian sent forth a bolt of crackling lightning that exploded upon the body of Volran and it would have rent his flesh apart had it not been for the powerful shield. Harax did not relent. He sent another bolt of Smite, this time forcing Volran back a step.

"I call upon the Might of the Ancients!" roared Harax, his words forming a spell as well as his declaration of will.

Psychic energy pooled into his muscles and its cells were saturated with wholesome energy that fed them incredible strength. With that strength, the Librarian leaped at Volran, hitting him squarely in the chest with the Force Axe before kicking the Zerg commander in the belly, sending the creature sprawling down the mound. Harax should have continued his assault, but his habit of guarding his mind against the perils of the Warp before casting another psychic powers held him back, and it was those precious few seconds that Volran needed to use his own supernatural powers.

From his maw shot forth a ball of bright white light that struck Harax in the chest and sent the Space Marine flying back. Volran opened his mouth yet again, and his fangs glowed in energy before pooling that energy into a single ball of pure energy that seemed to resonate with the very space around it. The Zerg was about fire this weapon when he was struck from behind by bolts of plasma followed by a thrust of a Power Sword. The shield flared for a moment before the blade went through, getting stuck in the thick armored carapace. The depletion of shield was alarming enough, but the impact of that back stab was enough to send Volran rolling on the ground.

"I am no easy to kill," said Titus as he launched himself at Volran once more.

Lying on his back, Volran blocked two strikes of the Power Sword with his arm, letting the thickly formed carapace laced with psionic energy block that deadly blade. Still, he bled, and Volran did not like it. He roared at Titus, sending a powerful sonic blast that deafened the surrounding and giving the Ultramarine a pause. Getting back on his feet, Volran sought to tear out Titus' face only to have his right wrist grasped by the Power Fist of Henri. The legendary weapon 'Claws of Salastos' had such strong servos and motors that even the impossibly thick and tough bones and carapace of Volran's avatar began to crack. Alarmed, Volran gathered up psionic power in his mouth to blast Henri with it. Yet again, he was thwarted as a whip of telekinesis wrapped around Volran's neck and choked him.

Attack came immediately. Titus' Power Sword was driven deep into Volran's belly, while Henri hammered at Volran's right shoulder joint, and Harax issued forth incredibly destructive lightning through that telekinetic leash around Volran's neck. It would have been the end if Volran had been any weaker. With a roar so terrible, Volran unfolded his Kaiser Blade wings and his muscles tensed up. His free left hand grabbed at Titus' right wrist that held the sword, then he squeezed. Titus could not help screaming as his wrist was crushed. Actual bones were merely bruised but the armor was broken, and as a testament to Volran's strength, Titus was flung to the side and collided with Harax as the Librarian stood immobile to keep his hold on Volran. With two of his opponents temporarily disabled, Volran turned to Henri who broke the Zerg's chest carapace with another well-struck hammering.

Impact was powerful but not enough to incapacitate the mighty Lord of Ultralisks. Though he coughed up dark blood, Volran was not so easy to kill. He grabbed at the thick power cable that fed the Thunder Hammer with energy and tore it out. Henri barely had time to retreat before the cable was pulled out. Another three bursts Resonance Cascade send Henri's body sprawling down the mound with severe injuries to chest and abdomen.

Volran turned to Titus who stood up again but was shaken.

"**You Space Marines are surely great warriors. I had heard of your kind when I was but babe, and I used to so dream to be one of you... and thus I was made warrior but now... I surpass you, Captain Titus.**"

"You speak as if you were human, yet I see only a xeno."

"**You know nothing of me, Titus. You think I stand here in my loathing for humanity? I assure you, I am human, much more than you would ever be... You are but mutilated and deformed abhuman with simply more use than an Ogryn.**"

"How dare you insult the greatest warriors ever made? We are the scions of the Emperor and we are his Finest!"

"**Is that so, Titus? I have yet to see the best of you. If you are the best that humanity can throw at us, this galaxy is already our... Argh!**"

Volran could not finish his words when he was suddenly skewered by a large pole with a Commissar-issue Power Sword strapped to its end.

"**What? What is this?**"

Before Volran could turn to see his new enemy, the new enemy was upon him. A Hydralisk claw, severed at his joint, was sunk deep into the collarbone of Volran's body, crunching through the bone and flesh.

Volran violently spewed blood up before a Space Marine appeared, clad in Crimson Knight's armor soaked in Zerg blood. The Space Marine silently cut off Volran's right arm with a sword that seemed to be made up of an Ultralisk's secondary Kaiser Blades.

Violence exploded all around them, renewing the fires combat. Only the Scouts under Cyrus and the Terminators had survived, and with Chaplain Matoras already in coma after he was cut down by six Hydralisks. What Titus saw were thirty or so soldiers of Imperium all covered in dried blood of Zerg and clad in tattered and broken pieces of armor and Zerg carapace. They came rushing in, taking out the Zerg with such ease and expertise that even Titus was surprised to see. He saw Cyrus too. Cyrus and one of his Scouts were dragging unconscious form of Matoras to safety, and Titus could see that even Cyrus was wounded, no doubt from trying to save Matoras. Titus then realized who it was that dealt such blows to the powerful Zerg creature. It was the Silent One, the Chapter Ancient of the Crimson Knights whose mysterious crimes would force his own chapter to abandon search

"**What are you? You are...**"

The Silent One did not speak. He simply cut down Volran. Volran resisted but the Silent One seemed to read much of the Zerg's moves as if he was greatly experienced combating the Zerg. Volran made a final strike, firing another bolt of Resonance Cascade at the Silent One, who rolled to the side and easily evaded the attack.

"**Impossible... Impossible...**" muttered Volran his mind too stunned, then twinkle in his eyes returned, "**I see... So... The plot thickens... You could have told me... and I would have played along... my master...**"

Then Volran suddenly gathered another Resonance Cascade, bigger this time. Silent One was ready for it, with a lightning quick movements, he stuffed something into Volran's throat. Surprised Zerg commander widened his eyes before his head exploded.

That was not the only explosion, however. The moment after the head was gone, the rest of Volran's body began to glow. The Silent One and the soldiers he brought began to drag any Imperial survivors away, even as the Zerg around them began screaming and shook as if suffering from seizures.

Then came the explosion.

Like a giant firework, Volran's body exploded and the psionic impact sent everyone flying, and some of the broken pieces of vehicles were flung into the air.

Titus remembered little after that, and he was only vaguely aware as he was loaded on to what he surmised was the Thunderhawk that carried him and his brothers.

* * *

><p><strong>005.740.M41<strong>

**High Orbit - Argol II**

The evacuation was a hurried affair.

So few were the remaining fleet elements that the Inquisitor Hadrian could not help but save military assets first. Baneblades and rest of the armored divisions were loaded up while the Crimson Knights aided in evacuating as many Imperial Guardsmen they could, elite elements first of course. After as many veterans were saved, civilians were given the chance to leave, and Hadrian had made a painful but necessary decision to cut off certain people. Anyone aged 40 and over were discarded from evacuation, and any cripple or diseased elements were also not allowed board any of the evacuating ships.

By the time they were ready, the Inquisitorial Blackship 'Boundless Hate' and the Crimson Knight Strike Cruiser 'Paladin's Blade' were the only two main battle ships while the escorts and twenty six civilian ships were almost useless in combat despite the large array of weapons they had carried.

"Inquisitor..." whispered the Crimson Knight Epistolary Kolonnes as he opened his eyes.

"I sense it too... it is lucky perhaps..." answered Hadrian as he too came out from meditation, "How are our brave heroes?"

"Captain Titus, Sergeant Cyrus and Librarian Harax should recover soon, but the wounds suffered by Sergeant de Arignon was grave... which is nothing compared to the wounds suffered by your Chaplain..." replied Kolonnes.

"I have spent a long time with him, Kolonnes... It would be a shame if we should lose him..." muttered Hadrian with deep sorrow in his voice.

Kolonnes sighed.

"For now, we have patched him up as best as we could and interred him in the spare Dreadnought sarcophagus, though he remains unconscious."

Hadrian raised an eyebrow.

"A Dreadnought? I cannot ask for that..." said Hadrian in surprise.

"I have none to give, Inquisitor. We merely had the sarcophagus."

The Inquisitor paused.

"I see..."

Suddenly, the door opened and Magos Axkand entered the chamber.

"Somber: The Virus Bombs are ready. Give your word, and they shall detonate."

Axkand showed an elaborate switch in his hand.

"Thank you, Magos... How many bombs did we use?" asked Hadrian.

"Cautious: Four original bombs, sixteen modified bombs had been discovered. Two original bombs are set to detonate."

"Good... The Zerg fleet, for whatever reason, is heading to the surface of the planet..." murmured the Inqusitor.

After a moment, Hadrian turned to Axkand.

"Burn it."

* * *

><p><strong><span>END OF CHAPTER 52<span>**


	53. Chapter 53 - Intermission Episode 1

**Firstly, I'd like to apologise for delay in any updates. My job just got harder when my co-teacher quit, and was replaced by a very new newbie, who knows less about paperwork than I do. **

**In any case, I hope you enjoy these intermission episodes that will write in the next few chapters, but they are not just fillers. They contain many hidden clues and subplots that contribute toward the final ending and the surprising twist.**

**As for Stargate: Galactic Imperium, I thought I had updated a chapter but apparently I forgot about it half way through. I may be focusing on that for a while... so expect a new chapter of Galactic Imperium... in few weeks maybe?**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 53 – Intermission Episodes 1<strong>

I am the Overmind.

I am the lord and master of the Zerg Swarm.

I am the ruler of many worlds. New Char was full of Zerg, and so were eleven worlds in the nine solar systems around New Char System. These solar systems were quite inhospitable. Only the New Char was a world among the nearest eighteen solar systems that humans could have survived without special technological effort. Yet, my Zerg were far superior survivors and they could live on worlds that humans could not. Volcanic worlds of toxic fume for air were nothing to my Zerg but they merely provided enough new minerals for my Swarm to feast upon. Desert worlds were easy thing as not even frequent sand storms could defeat my psionically protected Zerg. Ice worlds also provided certain charm for my Swarm, though I only colonized one such world near New Char for the crystal deposits in its crust.

I am currently operating a massive campaign of simultaneous invasion of the galaxy through a multitude of wormholes. Riax Sector was but one of such invasion, though it was a little more invested than others, but there were other sectors and regions of the galaxy that had equal or greater attention from me.

Although other regions of the galaxy had less schemes and plans involved in their corresponding invasion than I had done so with the Riax Sector, they were all very well-prepared. Certainly, the need to adapt to the Virus Bombs, the need to find out how exactly the Inquisition would respond, the need to know how the Eldar fight, and the need to know how Imperial Guards would fight were all good reasons to play a little upon the poor Agri-World of Argol II. Yet, other worlds were not so lucky as to have such leniency.

I turned my many gazes across the galaxy, and my consciousness expanded throughout the fabric of reality and seeped into the unreality.

* * *

><p><strong>Ultima Segmentum<strong>

**Subsector Vatas**

I looked to the galactic east.

Like so many others, Vatas was also a subsector beset by war and chaos.

Not long after the first handful of my scouts surveyed the subsector, I had commanded many Spylings to seek out knowledge. It was not as easy as it sounded, but I soon found myself immersed in the history of this subsector, and given the primary FTL-travel method of my Swarm, this subsector was a crucial staging ground for the rest of the sector and others around it.

My Spylings found out that, for nearly two centuries the subsector's six Imperial worlds had been fighting off the random and brutal raids of a Chaos Warband that had settled nearby.

Vatas Prime and the six Imperial worlds that stretched over the relatively large area of space were assailed by both the Chaos Warband led by a powerful Chaos Lord of Khorne as well as the Ork and human pirates. Although Vatas Prime was a powerful civilized world, it could not defend itself as well as its six neighbors against such numerous incursions.

The local Imperial fleet stationed on the shipyard orbiting the rocky moon of Vatas Prime had long attempted to fight off such attacks, but they were too few and too weak to combat the deadly raids. Human pirates were easy enough to scare off as the Imperial fleet maintained a strong fleet of capital ships including a Retribution-class Battleship, and three Battle Cruisers, four Cruisers and scores of lesser ships. Vatas Prime itself was defended by a stationary fleet of two Cruisers and nearly one hundred Escorts, including fifty Defense Monitors. Thus protected, only Vatas Prime was the only world untouched by the harassed by the constant raids.

Unfortunately, the lack of proper protection afforded to the other six worlds had brought terrible results over the two centuries. With the Imperial neglect so evident, these worlds were often forced to pay tributes to both the Chaos Warband and the Ork pirates so that they may be given relief from the constant threat of war. It was only when the Khornate warband finally clashed against the Ork Worlds that the current stalemate formed. Both the Khornate warband that settled upon a moon where a prosperous colony had once existed and the two Ork Worlds that had been united under a particularly cunning Warboss fought a terrible war of attrition against each other, replenishing their resources through increased piracy, while the Imperial forces of Vatas Prime began to grow enough to force the subsector into a three-way melee.

Yet, none of the three factions could have anticipated the Zerg.

The Zerg Wormhole opened up near the a nearby solar system not yet surveyed by the Imperium. The galaxy contained so many solar systems and planets, and the Imperium barely surveyed a tiny fraction of the planets, and controlled even small number. After all, there are billions of solar systems in the galaxy. This was one such solar system of an orange main-sequence star and three terrestrial worlds, three gas giants and a few scores of moons. These terrestrial worlds were planets humans could not possibly colonize. The first world was a red desert world of iron sand that swept across the planet's plains and hills at incredible velocity and temperature that nothing could survive. The second world was a rocky world of mineral-rich stone-mountains and rivers of heavy water flowing through the soil-less metallic flats. The third world was a truly barren world of no atmosphere but covered in such powerful electromagnetic field that all living things would be boiled alive.

One of the broods under a Hierarch named Lamias quickly colonized the second world of this solar system. A hundred Leviathans descended into the oxygen-rich atmosphere of that world, and within a surprisingly short period time, the Zerg covered the entirety of the planet. The fact that the level of oxygen and ozone was such that any human would burn out their lungs within seconds of exposure. My Zerg had to adapt as well, but it only took the death of few thousand Zergs to force evolution to add a new trait. It was from this staging ground that the Lamias Brood committed to the invasion of this subsector. Each day brought new fleet elements to the subsector, and the worlds and factions of the subsector were quickly set upon by numerically superior and greatly ferocious enemy. As a graceful strategist, the Hierarch Lamias learned under the master of stealth, Elric the Lord of Unseen. Thus the Hierarch followed the Path of Hidden Dagger, and it carefully moved its fleet and ground forces deep into the subsector.

* * *

><p>Khorne really didn't care where the blood came from. That same policy applied to the behaviors of the Bloodletters of Khorne.<p>

When the scores of Warp rifts formed all around the Chaos fleet of the Bloodnecks, the warband of Khornate Berserkers barely holding to the last remnant of their sanity. The insane warriors and slave-soldiers of the warband were suddenly drowning in blood, both of their own and that of the daemons that they were fighting. Despite the nearly one hundred Chaos Marines of Khornate-persuasion spread out across the fleet commanding well over a hundred thousand corrupted Guardsmen fulled armed with lasguns and wicked blades and axes, they were no match for the thousands of Bloodletters pouring out from every random Warp rifts that formed outside and inside of the Chaos vessels.

The brainless maniacs of the warband, particularly the Chaos Marines, were delighted indeed.

"Face my axe and die!" screamed an Aspiring Champion as he slashed across the neck of a Bloodletter.

The daemonic flesh tore asunder and bled profusely as the creature was made corporeal through the pure Warp energies spilling out from the rifts in reality. Even as it's corporeal form began to fail and its impossible organs shriveled in the face of its demise, the daemon attempted to slash its Hellblade, though the Aspiring Champion kicked the daemon back before turning around to hack another Bloodletter's back. The second Bloodletter to be attacked by the champion was busy thrusting its Hellblade into the chest of a Cultist only to find its spine severed and crushed into pieces by the whirring blades of the Chainaxe.

"Sa'korth! Come! There are more daemons here! To Khorne and to endless murders!" screamed yet another Aspiring Champion of Khorne.

Champion Sa'Korth howled in delight as he kicked a Bloodletter's legs from under it and then stomped down on its daemonic head.

"Do not take my preys from under my nose again, Belenor! They are mine! Their skulls shall be hanging by my side when this is over!" replied Sa'korth as he blocked a swing of a Bloodletter's Hellblade. "You dare interfere, daemon? I shall gut you for this!"

Indeed, Sa'korth kept his promise as he reached forth with his empty hand and punched it deep into the daemon's belly before pulling out a long string of guts made of crying faces of infants, tongues of snake and covered in dried blood.

The Champion screamed in delight as he pulled out the gut and then flung it like a whip to snare yet another Bloodletter, but this one was different. It was larger and it was grizzlier than others. It was indeed a Herald of Khorne, a true master of bloody battle even among the terrifying daemonkind. Perhaps it was the folly of Sa'korth, or the fact that most of the Chaos Marines and Cultists around him were dead, but Sa'korth charged at the Herald of Khorne, blinded by his own bloodlust. Though he fought well, it was mere five clashes of weapons before the Herald of Khorne beheaded the hapless Aspiring Champion.

The Khornate fleet was crippled with the first volley. I watched as the Warp rifts tore apart every living things within the ships. Some lesser ships fled into the Warp, abandoning their master below. However, most of the ships remained intact, only empty of living things.

* * *

><p>Then thousands of Drop Sacs landed upon the desolate moon of Shavil IV and deposited tens of thousands of Zerg upon the desiccated cityscape upon which the Chaos Warband Bloodnecks have founded their temples of murder and slaughter. Laughing hysterically in delight, the Khorne Berserker Lord Har'crask the Twinaxe and his retinue drove forth his two million Cultists against the Zerg in a desperate and brutal urban combat.<p>

The once prosperous civilized world, the moon of Shavil IV once called Sharavon by the locals before they were slaughtered, was made up of a large city that covered nearly 5% of the moon's entire surface. Its massive skyscrapers, wide and majestic buildings, well-maintained roads and highways, strong bunkers and deep trenches were nothing to the Bloodnecks when they came here two centuries ago. Sharavon's three hundred millions population was reduced one third of that former glory and rest were bred only to be either a Cultist or a sacrifice.

Long abandoned, the giant cityscape was but haven for the Zerg to infiltrate. Even as the two million-strong Cultist army filtered through the streets and broken buildings, the Zerg struck. Like their primary doctrine, the Zerg hid themselves well and carefully until they were at an advantage. There were no foolhardy attacks nor hit-and-run attacks. Only carefully planned ambushes and traceless scenes of former combat that left only the torn flesh of the Cultists. Hydralisks and Zerglings shot forth from the ground everywhere, surprising the unsuspecting Cultists, with Banelings exploded randomly everywhere. Infesters and their Fungal Spores exploded overhead, and Ultralisks rammed the Rhinos and other desecrated armored vehicles. Then like shadow into the night, they could not be engaged by the main strike teams of Chaos Marines, who had used their Cultists as bait but to no avail.

Still, the frequencies of skirmishes between my Zerg and the main Chaos forces began to increase as the days passed. I watched as my Zerg fought them hard. Their claws eviscerated the hapless Cultists as their fallen flesh slowly melted away within pools of acid that now ran freely across the entire city. Then I saw through eyes of a Hydralisk. Whenever a particular section of enemy's front was about to fall, a portal of swirling pool of blood appeared. From that horrid rift in reality came Lord Har'crask's strike teams, often led by the Chaos Lord himself and his retinue. In most cases, a single Chaos Terminator of Khorne would jump into the fray followed closely by a dozen Berserkers and a couple of squads of Chaos Marines. Given how my Zerg were also fragmented into small groups and spread out across the city, they were often overwhelmed by the sheer brutality of these Chaos Marines that swept all in their wake.

The worst was the appearance of Lord Har'crask the Twinaxe. He was escorted by four Chaos Terminators and three full squads of Berserkers as well as a dozen Bloodcrushers that charged through ranks of my Zerg. Lamias pondered at this situation from her new nest back on the nameless metallic planet. I could feel her gaze staring hatefully at the Chaos Lord, but she knew that her trap was ready. She would distract him thus, forcibly making the Chaos Lord spread out his troops beyond the giant Void Shield that protected the citadel dedicated to Khorne. Within that translucent red glow, the Chaos Lord was invulnerable against orbital fire. Within that vast field of impenetrable shield, blessed by the gruesome will of Khorne himself, even opening up Warp rifts by the Raidens' psionic bombs would do little. The Bloodletters would feel the blessed of the Khorne and would either fight or submit to the Chaos Lord. Fighting against the single-minded, murderous, bloody will of the Berserker Lord was okay for the daemons too, for Khorne cared not whose blood and skull that landed at his feet.

I could see Lamias' predicament. Har'crask was a powerful figure. Even though he wore a finely crafted Artificer Armor, he still stood slightly taller even than his Terminators, and he oozed immense power not just of physical nature. The thickly bound muscles were one thing, but his naked forearms told of the horrific yet powerful mutations given to him by Khorne. Scales of bloody brass covered him entire body like a giant reptile, but these were not really brass but metal of Warp itself, formed and bounded to him by Khorne's immense will. Though he hated sorcery and magic, the God of Skulls was no stranger to using the nature of the Warp. I saw through my mind's eye that the bones of Har'crask was partially metal and partially pure Warp of Khorne's realm. I could only assume that the unreal fires that shrouded the metal from the Realm of Brass and Blood burned him from inside out, bloating his insane soul into further bloodlust.

Har'crask howled with each kill, as if it the blood of his prey quenched his thirst that no water or ice would quench. I felt Lamias trying several different methods, trying to slay this monstrous creature of no thought other than that of murder. All attempts failed. The one time that came closest to killing him was near the end of that campaign. Using Ultralisks, Lamias blocked the escape route, as the powerful creature fought against the vehicles of the Chaos Marines. Then a wave of Zerglings distracted the Bloodcrushers, leading them away to be ambushed by Mutalisks. The Chaos Havocs quickly sought to aid the daemons, but a well placed Warp rift with enough attention and energy brought forth a Warp portal directly connected to a Daemon World of Slaanesh. The cadre of Bloodletters went into frenzy as Daemonettes of Slaanesh poured out.

Surrounded and distracted, the Chaos Berserker Lord ordered his Terminators to make a path through a wall of hundreds of Roaches and Hydralisks, among them hid two dozen Hunters ready to take out the Terminators. Khorne Berserkers were let loose as they were led by the Terminators to slay all Zerg in their inexhaustible march. Then hundreds of Banelings shattered the ranks of Chaos Marines huddled around the bloody portal, shutting it down when a slave-psyker bounded to the portal was showered in acid. Cut off and his men too busy or too dead to guard him, it created an opening. Eight Hunters and eleven Hydralisks came out from the ground and assailed him. That was Lamias' mistake. Suddenly enraged and burning with indelible bloodlust etched into his corrupted soul and mutated bones, the Berserker Lord Har'crask the Twinaxe suddenly went completely mad with hate and ire.

Alone, he crushed and hacked and slashed through everything that Lamias had prepared for him. Bones, flesh, blood and carapace exploded outward from the endless lightning-fast swings of two daemon-possessed Power Axes. Crackling with crimson aura of the daemons' rage, the blades of the two axes slaughtered their way through my Zerg as if they were mere humans or something. I suppose it had greatly surprised Lamias too. She quickly withdrew once more, backing down from a critical power station that generated almost half the required energy for the city's remaining defense including the automated laser cannons that littered the outer regions of the giant city that blocked larger Zerg air units from landing. Another reason that Lamias attacked at the power station was that it powered the only fuel refinery remaining in the city. Once upon a time, there were three scores of such refineries that fed the city of all its needs. Yet, after two centuries, only one remained that fed what remaining technological infrastructure of the city that still held.

The Chaos Marines of the Bloodnecks could not rely upon the old and broken pipelines that linked the refinery and the main reactor near the Citadel of Blood God, protected by the corrupted Void Shield. Only series of heavily guarded and armored convoys could deliver the much needed fuel to the main reactor, passing through a fortified gate. Lamias assailed the gate four times, and failed each time, and the attacking of convoys was even more foolish as the three fuel tankers that the warband operated were individually protected by very powerful escorts of super heavy tanks. Throughout his long years in the business of killing Imperials, Lord Har'crask found himself in possession of many 'trinkets', a list of which included the Baneblade 'Soaking of Skulls' and the Macharius Vulcan 'Shredder of Flesh'. Escorted by six Leman Russ tanks of several variants with the two super heavy tanks as vanguard and rearguard, these fuel convoys were often tougher than the gate itself to assail.

I merely watched though, with no thought of intervening. It wasn't long before Lamias figured it out.

The warband was more than surprised when their main reactor exploded, spreading forth endless carpet of Creep from its ruptured fuel lines. Lamias had sneaked in a very small but very compressed seeds for the Creep Tumors of very virulent strain. These were developed as offensive tool to boost the Zerg movement along a particular paths in rough terrains. They weren't strong enough to feed Zerg hive clusters beyond the likes of Spine and Spore Crawlers, but they were small enough to sneak into the refinery's systems, and then transported by the fuel tankers to be delivered to the main reactor inside the shield. With the main reactor down, the Void Shield fell, and thousands of Drop Sacs fell also.

However, Har'crask wasn't as stupid as other Berserkers. Instead of repairing the main reactor, he sought to reclaim one of the geo-thermal power stations that Lamias' forces had overtaken. Destroying the structure would unleash dangerous volcano underneath the section of the city that could cripple over one tenth of the city and much of the Zerg forces, whose newly formed Hive Clusters resided right over such weakness of earth. Thus kept safe and operating, it provided the Chaos Lord a chance to power his shield again, and a chance to hack away at the Zerg. Lamias thought this a chance to slay the Berserker Lord, and she assembled what Reavers and Ultralisks she could must in time. Even as Har'crask and his retinue fought their way toward the power station, they were quickly surrounded by five Ultralisks and thousands of Zerglings and other lesser creatures. Still, the Khorne's warriors were powerful.

* * *

><p>"Do the beating of your hearts echo the drums of war? Do you hear that sound? Do you hear Khorne calling your blood! For the Blood God!" roared Har'crask.<p>

Riding atop his own Juggernaut, the Khornate Berserker Lord screamed as he charged along with his Bloodcrusher cavalry. Exactly forty nine Bloodcrushers and seven Berserkers on Juggernauts followed the Chaos Lord and they trampled through entire ranks of Zerglings to reach the large Hydralisk-like creature with enlarged skull. The Slayer, being the Swarm's evolution specialist, was developed and evolved into field commander to extend and intensify Lamias' control over the battlefield, and although it had allowed Lamias to micromanage the Brood it also gave an opening for Har'crask's forces in identifying command creatures.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Holding on to the Juggernaut with his armored legs, the Chaos Lord contemptuously flicked aside the spines fired by the Hydralisks guarding the Slayer. He felt keenly how his Juggernaut stained under his weight, as the weight of the corrupted insane soul bloating with blood and skulls dedicated to Khorne was far greater than any physical weight. He also felt the brass hoofs of the daemonic creature stomping upon a Zergling and he saw the nose-mounted blade of the Juggernaut skewered a Hydralisk right in the middle. Even as he quickened pace, the Slayer had finally noticed him.

"CRAAAAGH!"

Screamed and howling, the creature that stood nearly twice the size of a Hydralisk turned its glowing gaze upon the charging Chaos Lord. For a moment the orange glow of the Slayer turned purple as the Hierarch stared at the Chaos Lord via its four eyes. Shuddering, the Slayer raised its flaps like the Hydralisk that it was based on, and fired four spines glowing and crackling in psionic energy.

Boom!

The spines struck the daemon mount that the Chaos Lord was riding upon, and the Chaos Lord nimbly jumped off the creature.

"Weak and pathetic! You dared to presume to be my steed? I shall return your skull to Lord Khorne!" muttered Har'crask before bringing down his daemon-possessed Power Axe and cutting off the Juggernaut's head.

The Slayer did not lose a moment. It opened its jaw and sent force a burst of Phase Disruptor. Har'crask instantly turned around and blocked the incoming blast with its twin axes crossed against each other. The energy blast that should have vaporized large chunks of the target's body merely sizzled against the greater psychic power that Har'crask wielded as the Khorne's champion. Though not manifested as sorcery, the immense will of Khorne was with this Berserker Lord, and only the very exterior surface of his armor turned to metallic powder.

"Is that your best shot, bug? I will have your head! Do you hear the drums of WAR! FOR KHORNE!"

Knocking aside two Roaches that blocked his way, Har'crask charged at the greater Zerg creature once more. Beside him were a Bloodcrusher and a Berserker on Juggernaut. The Berserker quickly lost his mount as two Banelings came rolling from the side and exploded upon the creature. Fallen off the daemonic mount, the Berserker simply went on a rampage against the Zerglings that quickly surrounded him. Only the Bloodcrusher could keep up with the great Champion of Khorne.

Yet, even as he neared the Slayer, it simply vanished, leaving nothing but dust of soil into which it had burrowed. Leaving the Chaos Lord frustrated, the Slayer reappeared nearby, escorted by a new cadre of Hydralisks. Even as Har'crask cut off the head of a Zergling, he spotted his target once more, and turned to charge up the gentle slope. A Hunter entered the scene, and it slashed down at Har'crask with its glowing claw, to which the Chaos Lord parried with strong swing followed by the other axe heading toward the neck of the Hunter, but the hunter blocked the attack with its other claw before firing spines into Har'crask's face, only for the Chaos Lord to momentarily bend backward to evade the flying spine before resuming his posture at impossible speed. The warp-enhanced Chaos Lord resumed his attack on the Hunter, managing to break the Hunter's claw arms before sinking an axe into the Hunter's chest.

Leaving the wounded hunter for the two Bloodletters that came up to him, Har'crask sought out the Slayer once more. This time, he did not allow the Slayer's bodyguards to delay him. At his call, the ground shook as a Maulerfiend came charging, its body showing the remains of the Ultralisk that fought the daemon machine. Even with a piece of Kaiser Blade stuck in its side, the Daemon Engine was highly effective in slaughtering Roaches and Zerglings around it. The Lashers that wiped the floor with the blood of Zerglings were covered in thick blood as it had killed a lot more than it had ever done so since its creation.

"Craagh! CAAAAAW!" roared Slayer at the Chaos Lord.

"Oh! You challenge me? Then it is on! Your skull will be mine, creature!" replied Har'crask as he hacked aside a Roach, finally coming close enough for his axe to reach the Slayer.

He was again interrupted by scores of Hydralisks and two Hunters. In their numbers, they proved to be a threat for a Chaos Lord who had forsaken ranged weapons in favor of his two axes. Yet, the Chaos Lord not alone, and was still in possession of some good cards. With another command through his vox channel, he had summoned forth his reserves. Acrid smell of burning ozone followed the appearance of six Chaos Terminators, and they were fully Khornate. Chainaxes and Lightning Claws tore through the Hydralisks guarding the Slayer, and the Slayer was slippery.

Just as Har'crask reached the Slayer once more, it had burrowed deep again. Har'crask howled in desperate frustration as his rage began to boil and expand. He let out his anger against the new waves Zerglings and Roaches that reinforced that Hydralisks against the Terminators. Though they were powerful, the Terminators were outnumbered heavily, and Har'crask was forced to move alone as the Slayer appeared somewhere else.

"Stay still, worm! I will gut you and I will chew on your spines, you insect!" screamed Har'crask as he ran through the chaotic battlefield where every inch of the ground was filled with battling creatures and warriors.

"Come! Warriors, to me and to glory of Khorne!" bellowed the Khorne Champion, and he rallied to him five Possessed Chaos Marines, leaving seven Possesseds to fight off an Ultralisk and two dozen Roaches.

Har'crask ignored waves of Banelings exploding around him and among the Chaos warriors. Slaves were plenty in number and they died by their hundreds as cannon fodders while the elite Chaos Marines fought tooth and nail against the Zerg.

An Ultralisk charged him, and the five Possesseds blocked it, allowing Har'crask to reach the Slayer at last. The double claws encased in long glowing energy clashed against the daemon axes of the Chaos Lord. The Slayer was a massive creature, standing as tall as fully armored Terminator, and it was powerful. Each strike was as deadly and mortal as the next, and both side did not relent. From the Chaos Lord's attire, chunks of the brass-coated armor began to lose cohesion as bits and pieces were tore out or exploded, while the Slayer's carapace cracked and the Zerg blood began to flow.

Minions from both sides attempted to aid their lord. Four Chaos Marines came charging with their Chainaxes and Bolt Pistols while six Hydralisks came slithering. The Slayer roared as four bolt rounds exploded against its carapace, and Har'crask sought to take advantage of this momentary distraction by slashing at the creature's belly only to be interrupted by a Hydralisk tackling him to the side. The axe in his other hand split the skull of the Hydralisk that dared to interfere in the duel, but it was too late to stop the Slayer from skewering the offending Chaos Marine in the chest.

Even as the Slayer eviscerated the Chaos Marine in question, Har'crask charged it. Furious shoulder-charge knocked the Slayer aside and the Chaos Lord was about to perform a glorious coup de grace when he was struck by Hydralisk spines. One almost hit him in the right eye, and another came so close to his primary heart. The three Chaos Marines that came to aid the Chaos Lord launched into action and fired upon the Hydralisks, and gave enough time for Har'crask to finally sink his axes into the belly of the beast. The Slayer was slain.

Yet, he did not know that the Slayer was but a costly bait. He was now separated from his escorts. His Possessed Marines were tackling masses of Ultralisks and Roaches, while his Terminators were challenged by Hunters supported by the Infesteds, spawned from several Infesters. The rest of Chaos forces under Har'crask fought against waves after waves of Zerglings, and the vehicles of armored divisions were stymied from actually entering the battle by fields of Banelings and Ultralisks as well as Banelords upon the nearby hills raining down their acidic payloads. Even his daemonic forces were blocked by the three Hybrid Destroyers and psionically charged Zerg creatures under the hybrids.

In the air, the Chaos forces employed many aircraft stolen and desecrated from the Imperial forces. Dozens of Thunderbolts and Lightnings vied for air superiority against the wings of Mutalisks and Gattlisks, while the powerful squadrons of Vulture Gunships covered in horrific defilement fired their weapons against the Corruptors and Devourers. Yet, against the numerically superior forces, the Chaos air force began to lose ground, and more and more vehicles exploded or fell to the ground.

At first Har'crask thought he had won, but now he began to realize that his armies were divided and unorganized against a mightier force. It riled him up more than anything to even imagine a defeat. He screamed in insane gurgles as he attempted to charge at the nearest Zerg creature. Lamias had other ideas about that. Immense explosions rocked the Chaos Lord as three Hybrid Reavers appeared, summoned directly from the Hive Cluster by the sheer power of the Hierarch.

"Guards! To me!" shouted the Chaos Lord, and understanding that their master has called them, the Terminators teleported to Har'crask.

With crackling ozone filling the air, six Chaos Terminators appeared and stood beside their master against the Reavers and scores of Zerg creatures that now surrounded them.

Outnumbered and outgunned, the Chaos Lord was cornered for the first time in the campaign. Again, his rage exploded and the Berserker Lord whirled into the thick of it. Entire ranks of Zerglings, Roaches and Hydralisks died at his hands. Still, he was unable to overcome the three Hybrid Reavers even with the aid of the Terminators.

The battle was finished. Chaos Terminators were torn apart, armor and all, and even the mighty inexhaustible rage of Har'crask could not affect anything when his arms were torn off and melted down by acid. He raged on, frothing around his fanged mouth, though he was armless and helpless. The moment that the Hydralisk skewered the Chaos Lord's skull, I intervened.

-_**Lamias, hear me.**_-

"Overmind? I obey. Command me."

-_**Retreat from this moon. Leave no trace of our victory here. Let the remaining Chaos forces survive for now. They have been weakened and they are leaderless. They are of no concern... however... make sure that there are no survivors within the fleet. I want there to be a floating tomb of empty ships as a warning. I want the name of the Swarm to strike fear in the heart of all living things.**_-

Lamias paused at this strange request. In fact, I wasn't utterly sure why I commanded her to do this. This must be one of those secret projects that I have hidden even from my own conscious self to guard their secrets against future Eldar incursions. All I knew was that I needed the fear to drive my enemies before us. Although...

"I obey, Overmind."

* * *

><p>While the Chaos Warband was fighting in insane delight, the two Ork Worlds were also visited by the Swarm. When the Zerg fleet appeared from the thick asteroid field in the solar system, the Ork fleet responded, chasing after the smaller Zerg fleet only to find their vessels trapped within the millions of asteroids flung at them by the psionic powers of the Swarm used at fleet level. As the Ork fleet was being bombarded by the asteroids, the real Zerg fleet approached the two Ork Worlds from another vector. Leviathans descended into the low orbit by their dozens, and spewed forth millions of Zerglings and hundreds of thousands greater Zerg creatures. Ultralisks roamed by their hundreds, hunting and fighting equally numerous Squiggoths, while the Zerglings tore at the Gretchens and Ork Boyz who were surprised by the sudden appearance of enemies.<p>

Like the Khornate Warband, the Orks were delighted too. They were pleased for battle, and they rallied around their minor Warbosses and Nobz, while their great Warboss Shakgrot Ironsnik drove his entire retinue of five hundred Nobz and his subordinate Biker Boss Ugfang Red'un led his thousand-strong Ork Biker Boyz to chase down the droves of Zerglings. Flak explosions filled the skies, and bullets filled the air as the Orks fought the Zerg with everything they had. The Zerg losses were incredible. Though seemingly so primitive, the Orks were well-prepared for war.

On the capital world of the Ork empire, a world of lush jungles and harsh terrain, Orks formed crude cities set up atop massive low mesas and covered those areas with their horrible weapons. Each Ork city was set up with hundreds if not thousands of flak cannons that were often scavenged and looted Autocannons. Being Orks, they made the Autocannons into something more powerful though much less uniform. Some were five Autocannons strapped together with a single Lasgun with extra power used as a guiding beam, while another type of flak was made of an Autocannon that fired Squigs whose mouths were stuffed with explosives. There were some Lascannons too, equally debased and changed to suit Orks' Kulture. Whatever the case, the anti-air defenses of Ironsnik's empire was palpable. Thousands of Drop Sacs were eviscerated in the air, and only few arrived on the planet, and hiding into the deep jungles to set up their own Hive Clusters.

A red world that fulfilled the Orks' need for mineral resources was the other Ork world. Although its population but a fraction of its neighbor, there still millions of Orks on the surface, centered around an ancient automated mining facility. From that place, Orks have spread out and settled in scores of smaller walled fortresses, fighting off the giant Sand Spiders that spit toxic phlegm and could chew up Orks with their sharp fangs. The Zerg were delighted to come to this world, for it had many things that Zerg wanted such as a new specimen to collect the essence. Unfortunately, the automated mining facility was protected by a powerful energy shield impenetrable to anything that Zergs could throw at, and was protected a set of six very powerful energy cannons that fired bright green lightning bolts that would shred any Zerg in its range and arc. Lamias ordered her minions to land outside the energy cannons' range, setting up several Hive Clusters and rebuilding an army as most of the Leviathans that approached the red planet were obliterated within hours.

While the Bloodnecks were at fault for using their Warp portals as main mode of transportation across the subsector in order to maximize surprise factor, they were simply unable to withstand the Zerg fleet without their own fleet elements. Orks, on the other hand, didn't need a defending fleet to fight the enemy fleet. Even with weapons on the planets themselves they could fend off attackers, even those of Zerg's caliber. Still, they didn't know the Zerg. Having established Hive Clusters, it wasn't long before the Zerg began to swell again in number, and Ork patrols in the jungles of the Ork capital world or the within the deep valleys of the red planet began to disappear.

"Wot agan? Wot ya meen dat Colfang's city disappeered?" asked the Warboss Ironsnik to his second-in-command, Ugfang Red'un.

"Tis tru, boss. Ma bika boyz go dere and all ded!" exclaimed Red'un in excitement.

The Warboss smiled too.

"Den dem bugz is still around? Heh... Den its WAAAGH!"

So simple were their minds. I watched from various points of views as Lamias desperately maneuvered her surviving Swarm on the ground to regain a proper foothold. At first, it was difficult as the Warboss dispatched the Biker Boss Ugfang Red'un and his powerful pack of Ork bikers to deal with each Zerg attack, and their agility proved fatal to several Zerg army groups.

I momentarily pondered if I should intervene, but Lamias wasn't stupid. She managed to distract the Orks enough with their ranks of Zerglings and handful of greater Zerg units. As she was forced to set her Hive Clusters in areas with very little source of catalyst chemicals to replace the much-needed Vespene Gas, she could not muster masses of Roachs or other units beyond the Zerglings and Drones. However, her gambit had paid off, and she was able to capture an Ork fuel deposit full of volatile chemical. Mega Drones harvested the entire stockpile of chemical barrels, and it was enough to form an army of Roaches, Hydralisks, Swarmhosts, Infesters and a handful of Defilers. She quickly evolved the Hydralisks into Lurkers as she needed Lurkers, Defilers and Infesters to catch those nimble Ork bikers.

She lured the bikers by exposing one of the outlying Hive Clusters. It looked totally legitimate despite the fact that Lamias had just created a small Hive Cluster as a bait using all the excess minerals she had been collecting thanks to having a vast army of Drones that she was forced to birth before chemicals were available. The Warboss immediately dispatched Red'un and his bikers to the bait Hive Cluster. Even as Red'un slew a Zerg Queen and her retinue of Hydralisks, he roared in triumph, thinking that the Queen was the leader of the Zerg. He was wrong. His Bikers were suddenly covered in thick fungal growth

With her new army, she had begun a new tactic to strike the Orks down. She began to grow and produce more Lurkers and Infesters from the resources that would normally have produced Roaches and Hydralisks. Infesters expended their entire energy reserve to firmly hold the majority of Ork bikers in place while the fungal infection weakened the Orks themselves. By the time that Red'un had came to his senses, Lurkers were tearing his Bikers into small pieces while the small number of Defilers cast Plague, the virulent bacterial and viral disease of Zerg origin quickly breaking down the Orks and their bikes. This was one of the reasons that I had such attention paid to Argol II since I had learned of the Virus Bombs' existence. Using the Life-Eater Virus bomb, I wished to force my Swarm to evolve into something far more dangerous than they are right now. I hoped that my Swarm would soon adapt and learn from the Life-Eater Virus so I can bolster so much of the Swarm's viral weapons.

Even as the powerful Zerg bacteria broke down both their flesh and their wargears, the powerful spines of many scores of Lurkers came like waves of violent stormy sea. Ork bikers never stood a chance as their only real advantage in agility was negated by the sprays of Fungal Growth while their bikes were trashed and their weapons ruined by the all-encompassing danger of the Zerg Defiler's Plague, and finished off by the endless waves of Lurker spines. Once caught in that trap, the entirety of the that bait Hive Cluster came alive to assail the Orks. Four Nydus Worms exploded out around the rear of the Ork army while hundreds of Zerg clawed out from the thick Creep around the Hive Cluster.

Ugfang Red'un was not such easy target even when he was ambushed. He rode up a specially made 'bike', if such thing could be called a bike. He was already a massive Ork to begin with, but he was clad in pieces of looted Chaos Marine armor, and to sustain that weight Ork Meks had to build him a special bike. The fact that it was basically the size of an Imperial Guard Chimera or the fact that it had four Gretchin-controlled Big Shoota turrets as well as his two forward-arc Dakkaguns and two rocket pods or the fact that had engines remade from an engine part ripped out from a Thunderhawk, could do very little to describe how dangerous Red'un was. Ugfang Red'un was still rampaging through ranks of Hydralisks and Roaches even after his Warbike was half-ruined. He tore out one of the Dakkaguns and held it in his left hand to spray the bullets while chopping away at the Roaches with his Big Choppa. The whirring teeth of the chainsaw mechanism growled dangerously each second as he slashed and hacked at the Zerg.

However, he was increasingly at disadvantage. Though more than half of his bikers had survived initial assault, each passing minute reduced the number of Orks quickly. By the time Ugfang Red'un was breathing raggedly after taking on an Ultralisk and barely surviving, he realized that he was alone. He was facing a dozen Hydralisks, three dozen Roaches and hundreds of Zerglings not to mention two Ultralisks. The Ork Warbiker Boss roared his last as the Hydralisks tore him to pieces with their spines.

I watched all of this unfold with some interest. I knew immediately that the fall of the Ork Warbiker was a major victory for Lamias, but it wasn't complete. She still needed to deal with the actual Warboss of this Ork Waaagh!, and Warboss Shakgrot Ironsnik was defending his 'kapitol' with his personal Gargant 'Da Supakruncha', four Stompas, over a hundred Squiggoths mounted with some armor and weapons, three hundred Deffkoptas and almost a hundred Bommers of various types. Many looted tanks and other ground vehicles also filled his vehicle depots that dotted the largest Ork city on the planet, populated by well over five million fully grown Orks and at least twenty million lesser Orkoid creatures including the Gretchins and Squigs. Against these, Lamias could do very little until she could muster a greater Zerg army.

I carefully and gently planted a suggestion in her mind, and she followed that intuition to begin raiding outlying Ork cities and consumed not only Ork flesh but their entire city of metals and chemicals. One by one, smaller Ork cities fell as none of the fallen cities could muster enough strength to defend against an army of Zerg. Red'un had been Ironsnik's enforcer, and it was the roar of the thousand-strong Ork bikers and the threat of the Warboss that the bikers had carried on their backs that had forced the scores of Ork cities to heel. Now, the Biker Boss was dead. The rising tension between the Ork cities over the lost influence of Ugfang Red'un aided in Lamia's design. Several factions arose among the Orks as the Nobs with great influences began coveting a place beside the Warboss or perhaps hoping Ironsnik may die in the coming conflict.

Of course, Ironsnik was no fool and he allowed nothing and no one challenge him. He had unwittingly taken advantage of Lamias' distraction as the campaign against the Chaos warband neared its peak. As Lamias paid greater attention to the last stage in the campaign against the forces of Chaos, her control over the Brood on the Ork worlds were delegated to a Patriarch, three Hiveseers and a dozen Overseers. With the Zerg command becoming less singular, the assault on the Ork forces began to show problems. I could have intervened, but I did not. I wanted to see how it all unfolded.

Ironsnik was smart for an Ork, and he noticed the pattern immediately. He began to utilize his superior air power to his advantage, while sending out large mobs to quell any challengers to his rule. He spent the next planetary week stomping so many lesser bosses of different cities. His hordes of Ork Nobz and thousands of Ork Boyz would clash against the mobs of lesser Warbosses, whose own forces maintained significantly less technology and less vehicles. It appeared that Ironsnik had hoarded all the advanced technologies that his Big Meks had developed. The only bosses who could resist the Warboss to any degrees were the Mek Bosses or those who maintained decent number of Mekboyz.

A Mega Nob who ruled a city built near a major iron mine challenged Ironsnik by uniting several Ork towns, fortresses and cities under his own banner. The newly rising boss was called Gitbasha, and he quickly grew into his own, thanks to Lamias actually taking a step back from attacking his new holdings. I was rather impressed that Lamias had figured out the Ork politics in such short time. Even as she assailed the Chaos Lord's forces great distance away, her commanders made sure to attack Ironsnik's forces just enough to give chances to the challengers.

I was pretty sure that it would not amount to much, but it would still give Lamias enough time to build up her Brood on the Ork worlds while she wrapped up the Chaos forces. Indeed, her forces had quickly taken hold of the second Ork world, and its few meager Ork fortresses were quickly isolated and unable to call for help while the main Ork world was embroiled in civil strife. It was a good move on Lamias' part, making the Warboss distracted. He would be a formidable opponent to deal with if he had truly united all the Orks under him once more.

Even as her Brood continued to attack the mining planet of Orks and wore them down little by little, the war between Gitbasha and Ironsnik continued to escalate until there was a full-scale war between them. Gitbasha allied himself with a Big Mek 'Cogbutch' and the Stormboy Nob 'Jumpastompa', forming a coalition against the great Warboss. Although they were still outnumbered two to one, it was going to cause plenty of damage to Ork forces when the dust settles, and Lamias was waiting for it.

Perhaps Lamias was lucky. The Ork civil war was still on by the time Har'crask was slain and the Chaos warband defeated. The main Zerg fleet and army entered the Ork's solar system but they were not noticed by the Orks too busy fighting among themselves. Even the Ork fleet had split itself down in the middle and Ork ships were firing upon each other when the Zerg fleet materialized over the red world. With its cities and fortresses isolated and under siege, the red world could not resist the arrival of more Zerg without its defense fleet. Although their massive cannons and hundreds of turrets attempted to fire at the incoming Drop Sacs and landing Leviathans, the Orks on the red planet began to fall.

By the time that Ironsnik finally beheaded Gitbasha after Cogbutch betrayed the newcomer, the Brood was ready to assail the main Ork world.

Next nineteen days were filled with so much war and battle that Orks were delighted beyond their wildest imagination. Then another fourteen days passed to reveal how the Orks were losing. One by one, each of the outer Ork cities fell, and its inhabitants destroyed and devoured. They noticed the 'gunk' on the ground began to cover everything. Entire farms of fungi died as the Creep consumed them whole, and thousands of Squigs drowned in that thick ooze before the Gretchens realized the danger to their herd. By the day thirty-two, only the mighty capital city of the Ork Warboss Ironsnik remained.

The siege was on. Hundreds of Banelords fired their Baneling-bombs into the Ork city defended by thousands of flak cannons and many scores of point-defense weapons made up of stolen Imperial tech. With all the surviving Orks being holed up into a single massive metropolis, the Ork capital brimmed with well over a hundred million Orks, actually outnumbering the besieging Zerg forces four-to-one, but Orks were losing thousands of their number each day while the Zerg army was reinforced by their thousands. It was but a matter of time before the Zerg army surrounding the Ork city would outnumber the defenders, and when that moment came, Orks would fall.

That did not sit very well with the Warboss, and he began to use his head. He attempted to break through the siege first to connect with other Ork cities, which he had presumed still surviving despite being blockaded. A dozen Battlewagons, hundreds of Looted Tanks and thousands of lesser vehicles poured out from the half-dozen gates around the walls of the Ork city, and laid waste to the Zergs surrounding it. Thousands died on each side as the Ork Boyz escorting the vehicles could not survive that waves of Zerglings and Roaches. However, the Warboss made a critical mistake in thinking other cities had survived.

By the time that the Ork armored columns had reached other Ork cities, they only witnessed Creep-covered ruins, and some even had Zerg Hive Clusters being morphed into existence. They attempted to purge as many Zerg from the ruins but each city and fortress visited by the Ork vehicles only brought their morals lower. More than that, each ruined city contained many Zergs, particularly those of anti-armor persuasion. Ultralisks with Psi-Blade upgrade, Hydralisks with explosive acidic spine mutation, Defilers and Infesters full of psionic energy to cast their Plague and Fungal Growth, and thousands of Zerglings and Roaches to throw themselves into the treads of tanks, and all of them began to take a toll on the Ork armors. Each visit to fallen Ork cities reduced the number of Ork forces little by little, and by the time the armored column had returned to the capital and pierced through the blockade to re-enter the city, there were less than one third of its original number.

Second attempt by the Warboss to break the stalemate was to commit his sizable air force. Hundreds of aircraft took to air and rained down death to Zerg, or at least they had attempted to do so. With so many anti-air defenses of other Ork cities now silenced, Lamias was quite willing to commit her own fliers to the battle. Thousands of Scourges tangled with the Orks' fliers, and they met an embarrassing end as they could not deal with the massive damages caused by the Scourges. Then Mutalisks, Gattlisks, Guardians and Brood Lords assailed the city, laying waste to the outer defenses that could not strike the long-ranged fliers while there were simply too many Mutalisks to wipe out. In fact, tens of thousands of Mutalisks and Gattlisks died, and since they all had Posthumous Acidity mutation, which turned their rent flesh into pustules of highly toxic acid that reacted against several types of atmospheric gas particularly oxygen.

Since it took a couple of seconds for the torn out flesh of the Zerg fliers to morph into bags of explosive acid, it was quite effective in literally raining down acid against the Orks. The sacs of acid exploded after reaching critical mass, and they sizzled in the air only to shower the Orks in their exothermic reaction. The acid burned hotter than boiling water, and though it didn't amount to much in small amounts, the build up of heat by massive amounts of such exothermic reaction set things aflame. Fuel tanks and other flammable materials caught fire and soon a large chunk of the Ork capital's outer areas were burning.

Lamias took this chance to ram the walls and gates with her Ultralisks, several of which had grown to full size during the campaign and even a leader appeared amongst them. An Ultralisk that had given itself the name 'Amok' came into existence after it had slaughtered its way toward a minor Warboss of an Ork city. It was already near its full growth when it was sent with six other Ultralisks to break the will of the large Ork. Other Ultralisks had been slain but Amok had not only survived but it thrived in the endless slaughter. Its mighty Kaiser Blades were utterly soaked in Ork blood even as it chewed off the great Ork's head and devoured the soul. The consumption of so many souls had finally caused its evolution, and perhaps it was the eating and biting through a rank of Weird Boyz or it already had such potential, but it had evolved powerful psionic abilities.

Fully gaining sentience, I took notice, and communed with it. Then I granted it immortality. Anything other than immense psychic or psionic attack would allow Amok's Essence, now closely tied to my own consciousness, to return to me. As long as I had his Essence, I could always remake him with ease. In any case, the massive Ultralisk with four full-sized Kaiser Blade with serrated edge and natural Psi Blade took command of his fellow Ultralisks and rammed into the Ork city. The flames that Amok spouted from his maw allowed him to wipe out any remaining infantry defenders.

The Warboss was not giving up. He sent the remaining armored divisions against the Brood. Tanks and other crude Ork vehicles fired everything they had against the Ultralisks and the inevitable march of other Zerg creatures. Also, many millions of Orks that resided on the outskirt of the Ork capital came rushing out from every cracks and holes. The melee was terrible, and though many Ork tanks were destroyed, the presence of nearly a hundred Killa Kans and Deff Dreads took a grievous toll on the Brood, forcing Lamias to fall back until the besiegers could be reinforced.

Next few days saw more such actions, each Zerg push greatly weakening the Ork resistance.

Warboss Shakgrot Ironsnik then did something no one could have foreseen. Even I was quite surprised when the large hill upon which his massive fortress-tower stood exploded. From the exploding dust and rocks appeared a massive vessel of almost-emerald color with dark hues and metallic gleam. Strange runes and lines were etched across its surface even as it rose higher into the air. It was a giant pentagonal pyramid on top with very long pentagonal prism, whose pentagon cap was significantly smaller than the base of the pyramid, reaching so far down that I was amazed at the size of the thing. The height of the thing was easily six kilometers or more, and even the prism section was at least a kilometer on each side.

Strange energy energy weapons fired from the edges of the pyramid's underside. Bolts of bright emerald lights shattered upon the surface of the planet and incinerated my Zerg along with any remaining Orks. The Warboss was scorching the planet, and even as the cyan-hued energy shield that enveloped the massive vessel brooked no attack from anything my Zerg could throw at it. Not even the Warp Rift attacks of the Raidens would find purchase as the energy shield seemed to block such Warp attacks, allowing the Warp Rifts to form outside the shields. Lamias and I watched as the daemons hack away at the shield even as they were crushed by it. Then as a final insult, the tip of the pyramid fired a bright green arc of lightning that fired a dozen Leviathans in the high orbit before flashing out of existence.

Although curious about the ship, I was no longer interested in Lamias campaign any more, and veered my attention from her. I only received vague report afterward.

* * *

><p>According to Lamias that while the pirates were easily cast aside, the Imperials quickly retreated every military assets to Vatas Prime, withdrawing support from the Feral Worlds and Feudal Worlds. The Zerg ignored the six outlying worlds and focused the fleet strength against the defenders of Vatas Prime. It was a difficult fight as the two fleets wrestled four solar-day cycles. Having won a Pyrrhic victory, the Imperial fleet returned with most of their strength greatly weakened. Yet, by the time they had arrived, the Swarm had already landed on the planet using hundreds of thousands of Drop Sacs to field their ground forces.<p>

Lamias deliberately took out the two major factions in the sector before the Imperial holds. Both the Chaos Warband and the Ork Empire had fallen to the Swarm. Without any interference from either greater factions, the Imperial forces in the sector could offer very little resistance. Subduing Vatas Prime was not a hard campaign, albeit a long one. It took almost two months before every human on the planet was slain. Only then, the Zerg moved upon the six Imperial worlds, none of which had the technology or the strength of arms to resist the Swarm.

Then the Lamias did something unexpected. Personally landing in her vaguely humanoid form, the Hierarch Lamias on these worlds and spoke with the lords and leaders of these worlds. They surrendered and submitted themselves. In return for taxation in the forms of tributes of psychic potentials and minerals, these worlds were guaranteed safety under the Zerg rule. Vatas Prime and other conquered worlds were quickly turned into Zerg Worlds, full of Zerg whose number quickly swelled.

* * *

><p><strong>END OF CHAPTER 53<strong>


	54. Chapter 54 - Intermission Episode 2

Yes, I said I will focus on the Stargate: Galactic Imperium, but I just spent 12 hours straight writing this chapter, so I couldn't just let it go to waste.

Now, this is supposed to be EPISODE 3, but since these are EPISODES are only vaguely linear in timeline, I decided to just post it.

So, EPISODE 2 is now Hadrian & Judanus, and our Lord of Spyling Blood Master is forced to appear in EPISODE 3.

I hope you enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to shout either '**SSSSSSIIIIINNNNNDDDRRRRRIIII!**' or '**You treasonous dog! NO!**' at the end.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 54 – Intermission Episodes 2<strong>

**Segmentum Pacificus**

**Riax Sector**

**Istandor Subsector**

**Istandor II- Subsector Capital**

Matriarch Kheller shrieked in incoherent rage and pain as bolter rounds exploded against the hardened carapace of her belly. Yet, her attackers did not relent. With her shield drained from the precision artillery shot from a distance beyond the immediate theater of war, she could only rely on her own considerable constitution and few remaining bodyguard units.

Two Hydralisks poised themselves to fire another set of spines at the Deathwatch Scouts who quickly hide back behind the massive metal crates that dotted the wide open pier of the space dock. The very same place that had protected the Matriarch from the augurs of the Imperial air crafts had become her tomb. Unwittingly, she was forced to flee from the crippling air strikes of absolute fidelity without the understanding that it was not the powerful augur array still held by the Imperials but the silent steps of the Deathwatch Scouts led by Sergeant Cyrus who had caused her so much grief.

Although her armies and the armies of her fellow Matriarchs and Patriarchs still overwhelmed the Imperial forces, Istandor had not been such a pushover. Every move she had made came to fail, as the Imperials somehow detected every ambush and every feint. The ambush at the town of Hallonhall was turned around on the Hydralisks and Infesters in waiting as waves of Earthshaker barrages tore them apart before the Hellhounds rolled in. Baiting the Baneblade 'Sign of Brutality' had been successful only until sixteen Valkyries and Vultures rained down explosions and Stormtroopers carrying Melta weaponry.

Despite winning two or three battles for each of such setbacks, she had felt herself hounded by the relentless chase given by the revving Chainswords of the Deathwatch Space Marines. She had to evacuate her Hive Clusters thrice, and each escape was too narrow for comfort. Still, she had so many Zerglings in her army, so she sent them onward to victory. Relieved at the acknowledged safety of the abandoned spaceport 'Istandor Port 4', the Matriarch slowly turned the vast cavernous structure into a new Hive Cluster.

Yet, it had all been a trap all along. A dastardly plan by Sergeant Cyrus had driven the Zerg Matriarch into a desperate corner before beguiling her into settling into a trap. The Matriarch was furious, but she was too blind to see the real danger. With two of her Hunter Killers losing their heads to sniper fire, she was quickly confronted by Cyrus, who had once left a deep gouge across her face at the beginning of Istandor's fall.

Humans had been backed into three remaining Hive Cities, with the rest of the planet now in the Zerg's firm grasp. Other two Matriarchs and the Patriarch in command fought against the deadly arrays of various Imperial firepower, but she had to kill Cyrus. He made it personal for her. Had she been pure Zerg, there would not be such sentiment, but a Matriarch or a Patriarch is not simply born. They are made. Their souls and flesh were forged in the crackling chambers of the Overmind's lair, and there the Zerg brain was merged with the psyker brains of the human slaves.

Kheller knew that her Zerg brain had been merged with two female psyker brains purged of almost everything about the humans. The last vestige of their humanity manifested itself through most minor emotional responses, and it had become her doom. Enraged at seeing her foe, she drove her bodyguards and herself at the former Blood Raven. Explosions and falling crates erupted their flesh into tiny bloody pieces. Still, she chased him.

Now, here she was amid the stacks of huge metal containers, with her quarry hidden from her sights. The moment she had entered the open air, she was struck by the artillery shells and mortar shells fell around her. The escape was cut as the gate back to the spaceport was crumbled into a thick barricade of rubble while her bodyguards had become too few. Six Hydralisks and three Roaches were not going to be enough when she had counted at least five Scouts including Cyrus, and at least a full squad of Tactical Marines of an unrecognized Chapter.

"Show yourself, Cyrus. I shall carve your face like you've done to mine!" screamed the Matriarch, thinking such taunt could draw the human out.

The response came with a bolter round, and she had to turn her torso to evade it going for her chest. Instead, it exploded around her left shoulder.

"So, you know my name," replied Cyrus from nowhere.

"Where are you? I will tear your flesh!"

"Here."

The Matriarch turned, only to see a Scout jumped down from a crate behind a Hydralisk and firing his shotgun into the creature's back. The explosive shotgun munition knocked the snake-like creature forward, where another Scout promptly appeared from behind another crate and stuck a short metal spike to the back of the Hydralisk's head, with a grenade attached to the spike.

BOOM! Splat!

Another of her Hydralisks died as an inglorious splatter on the ground. Kheller turned and rushed toward the two Scouts trying to return to hiding. She fired her spines, only to have a falling debris scattering the spines. She looked up, and Cyrus was there on top of a three-crates stack and kicking down large chunks of clay on her. Her claws made short work of them, slashing and hacking.

Why did he throw lumps of clay at her? She wondered momentarily before the plastic explosives ignited. She screamed as her carapace finally broken and her softer flesh now exposed and torn. Bleeding and half-blind by the brightness of the sudden fire, the Matriarch stumbled back and forth, crashing into more crates that fell on her. One of her rear legs was crushed by a rolling fragments of a broken crate, while one of her claws was sheared off by the glowing-hot shard of a metal sheet falling upon her.

"I am here. You have sought for me, bug bitch."

Kheller turned to where the voice came from. Though her hearing was almost gone, she could feel him standing before her. She charged, her mouth roaring in rage. Cyrus sought to raise his bolter, but the Matriarch was too fast in her wounded ire. Cyrus had barely enough time to grab the wrist of Kheller's remaining claw that came within an inch of the Blood Raven's throat. The stump of the broken claw limb pushed against the carapace.

The pressure was incredible and Cyrus groaned as the fumbled for his combat knife. The Matriarch opened her jaw to bite into the Space Marine, but the Scout Sergeant was not having it. He struck the knife deep into the side of her head right into the large gash in the Matriarch's facial carapace. The sharp blade of the adamantium coated combat knife drove through into the brain of the Zerg Matriarch.

"Now you die, xeno."

Cyrus twisted. Kheller twitched before the immense pure psionic explosion swept through the air, crackling through the reality. For a moment, Cyrus could feel every Zerg creature surrounding the spaceport, and they were reeling. The moment passed, and the body of the Matriarch went limp. Then with a tremendous effort, Cyrus tore out her skull, exposing the brain.

"Sergeant," spoke a Scout who gathered around Cyrus.

"We must be careful. These creatures have evolved since our first encounter. They now have acid pouches inside their brain to deny us of information," said Cyrus, not paying attention to anything else but his careful surgery of the Matriarch's brain.

The combat knife carefully lifted the thick membrane around the frontal cortex of the brain, and wedged between the four segments of the Zerg's brain were a small green orb that began to pulsate.

"Damn it!"

Swearing, Cyrus cut and tore out a large chunk of the brain just as the green orb exploded in a small shower of acid that instantly turned the rest of the brain into goo.

"Here is the container, sergeant."

Cyrus carefully placed the piece of the brain he had saved into the metal container with various psychic warding etched on its exterior.

"We leave now, Initiate. What is the ETA of the Thunderhawk?"

"Twelve minutes, Sergeant Cyrus."

Cyrus growled. His Scouts were gathering around him but he knew that the Zerg were not far behind. Though he had collapsed the main gate from the spaceport, there were other ways to reaching the pier 3.

"Sniper rifles on the two highest stacks, and shotguns nearby for cover. We are going to have Zerglings all over this place," ordered Cyrus as he picked up his bolter.

"They are here!" shouted a Scout who had positioned himself on a two-crate stack with a bolter.

Cyrus turned and saw half dozen Zerglings crawling out from the holes in the debris that blocked the gate. Two sniper shots shattered two heads but more were coming. Cyrus turned his bolter at them. 

* * *

><p>-Well done, Cyrus. Your defeat of the Matriarch has driven back the Zergs from assailing the Bridge 32-7 and slaughtering the civilian refugee columns. I could feel the psychic backlash from all the way over here, and it has affected other Zerg commanders also, making them cautious and commit mistakes,- spoke Hadrian through the visual communicator.<p>

"It is not going to be enough. Just to take down the creature, we have sacrificed over two hundred men over the last fortnight, and six towns were given up. I still think it was too high a price just to destroy one creature," replied Cyrus, his voice ever cynical.

-It was worth every one of those lost lives, Cyrus, now that we understand more about the Zerg. In the last five weeks since the Zerg had followed us to Istandor, we've come to understand more about them than ever before. We now know to take the fight to them when they are vulnerable, and more importantly, we now know when they are most vulnerable during an invasion.-

Cyrus sighed. Hadrian was right. They now knew that the Zerg took some time before they began attacking the settlements. They now knew that a Zerg colony would take about a week to function properly. They now knew that the Zerg forces were unable to reinforce their front line troops in their normal overwhelming numbers during that gestation period.

"The planet is still under dire strain no matter what we've found out about the Zerg. The window was the first week, and we are well past that."

-Still, your victory has allowed four more transports full of civilians to flee from the planet. That's forty thousand souls you've saved today,- answered Hadrian with a weak smile.

"What of your task, Inquisitor?"

Hadrian shook his head in shame at Cyrus' question.

-The Hyphidian Gates have fallen. We've retreated sixteen kilometers to Orlian Hive, but Orlian Hive had been assaulted three times this week, and it would not hold against another such attack.-

"You've been holding the Hyphidian Gates for three weeks, Inquisitor. No one would claim that you've failed in your task. Holding that gate had been a major setback for the Zerg since they could not pass through to the remaining Hive Cities," said Cyrus.

-Tell that to the six thousand PDF soldiers and eight hundred Imperial Guards we've lost just today. Also, we've lost the Baneblade 'Insidious Bloodshed' to the Ultralisks,- muttered Hadrian, exhaustion clear in his face. -The crew of the Baneblade was brave, Cyrus. They fought to their dying moment, and took out three Ultralisks with their guns and obliterated their killer with a final shot of the Demolisher Cannon.-

"May their souls sit on the right side of the Emperor," whispered Cyrus with respect.

-Unfortunately, I've got more bad news, Cyrus.-

Cyrus frowned. There were not that many battle fronts that the Imperials were fighting to have so many bad news to keep flowing.

"Don't tell me... Titus?"

-Indeed. We've officially lost the Tertiary Telephatica Matrix. Titus and Harax had held their ground for four hours but they were forced to retreat after our forces suffered over 90% casualty rate. We estimate that the Telephatica Choir tied to the Matrix has been slaughtered. Titus and Harax have suffered grave wounds also.-

"Why do the Zerg continue to hound that place?"

-I do not know. That's why I've asked you to collect the brain of the Matriarch rather than simply killing her.-

"I've got the brain... but..."

-In any case, Titus led the Guardsmen in defense of the Matrix. The battle seemed to have been extremely intense. Titus and Harax had waded through thousands of Zerg creatures in their truly heroic feat, but they had lost and recaptured the Primary Access Shrine over seventeen times in the four-hour period.-

"Did... Did Harax manage to get a message off the planet?"

Hadrian's expression darkened.

-We cannot be sure. He claimed that he managed to send it off, but even as he fired it off, he felt the same eerie silence we've felt during our journey here, and it grows ever deeper and wider across the sector. The turbulence of the Warp may be growing silent, but it does bode well for us either. Even the bright beacon of the Emperor's light wanes in this dark silence.-

Cyrus nodded. He had heard of this during their escape from Argol Secondus. The journey to Vanron System had been slow, but their second jump to Istandor System had been painstakingly long and too quiet. Damaged during the fight with the Zerg fleet that had chased them to Vanron System, the Black Ship had suffered. More than once did the Geller Field wavered, and knowing the treacheries of the Warp, the passengers of the Black Ship prepared to fight off the daemons, yet none came.

Navigators were at a loss to explain how the Warp seemed to grow calmer and quieter. Usually of radiant display of insanity painted in color and screams became sickly dark purple hue that seemed to carpet out the endless sea of nothingness. Only the distant light of the Astronomicon and the growling hate that seemed from major Warp Storms such as the Eye of Terror and the Maelstrom seemed to function in that silence. As they traveled, their speed slowed despite pushing the engines to their maximum capacity.

Like swimming in mud, the fleet almost ground to halt just before exiting the Warp on the very edge of the Istandor System. Hadrian and Harax had aided the Navigators with their considerable psychic gifts but even they looked haunted when they stumbled out from the Navigators' chambers.

-The Silence, as the Navigators began to call it, stifles not only our Warp travels but even the light of the Astronomicon began to cloud under its oppressive presence. Still, given the modifications we may be able to resume Warp travel, albeit at slower pace,- muttered Hadrian.

"So, we've lost the Telephatica Matrix, and we are being pushed back again."

-We are on full retreat. The moon of Ishal is also under siege, and they would not hold for long. You need to return to Istan Hive City. The planetary capital and its spaceport will allow the civilian ships to evacuate as many as they can before we can leave.-

Sighing deeply, Cyrus looked at the wavering hologram of Hadrian.

"We cannot fight the Zerg with such large refugee fleet tagging along. You are an Inquisitor, I'd thought you would be more pragmatic."

Hadrian's eyes narrowed.

-Do not think that every Inqusitor would ignore collateral damage, Sergeant. I will save as many as I can, and would act without remorse if that situation demands but never for my convenience,- growled Hadrian in displeasure. -Do you understand me? I may be willing to commit Exterminatus to the whole subsector, but not before trying to save it.-

Cyrus nodded, for he knew it was a hard decision to abandon hundreds of thousands fleeing for their lives.

"We will divert our course to Istan Hive City. I will bring the brain."

-See you soon, Sergeant.-

* * *

><p><strong>Segmentum Pacificus<strong>

**Riax Sector**

**Sitron Subsector **

**Sitron Prime - Subsector Capital**

**-WARNING: WARP STORM [2911.3 'Maw of Kali']-**

"I do not know how you have pulled this off, my lord. You have not only managed to evade the Zerg in the Warp, knowing their presence is so oppressing, but you have somehow connected a stable Warp Portal to a Daemon World inside a Warp Storm. It is no easy feat," said Lilgath as he turned his gaze from the crackling Warp Portal that poured out hundreds of soldiers and warriors.

Mulling over his glass of wine mixed with fresh blood, Judanus chuckled at the amazement of his minion.

"For a Khornate, you seem to know much about the sorcerous methods that I use. I assure you, I have my ways, Lilgath. I am sure a Khornate warrior such as yourself would not care how you've got to a battlefield as long as you get to spill blood on that field," said Judanus in dark glee. "But we have very little time to be idle."

Lilgath looked down at the cadre of Khorne Berserkers rolling out from the Warp Portal with remains of corpses in their hands dripping blood. To sate the bloodlust, Cultists and slaves were regularly sacrificed to the Berserkers.

"So, we are on this Daemon World not because we simply wish to evade the Zerg?" asked Lilgath as a new set of soldiers appeared from the portal.

Judanus had come next to him, the horribly corrupted and Warp-tained Terminator Armor sizzling the very air around him. For a moment, the two watched as the Cultists clad in the ancient yet frail-looking Power Armors from the depth of the Argol Secondus' capital fortress-city. Leading the ninety-strong force of armored soldiers was the former Governor-Militant of Argo Secondus, the General Vegin, now branded a traitor.

"If I wanted to escape, we would have gone back to our fleet. Yet, here we are. I have deals to be made, and tasks that need to be done."

"You have a mission for me, lord?" asked Lilgath, seemingly interested.

Judanus paused with a knowing smile.

"There is a facility not far from his abandoned township. It is an Astropathica Array, containing all the trappings and technology of a Tertiary Telephathica Matrix, now crewed by the Horrors of Tzeentch instead of Astropaths," explained Judanus so casually. "It needs to be taken, and this crystal installed in its heart."

The Chaos Lord produced a small glowing purple crystal from a rune-covered leather pouch. Immediately, the thick energy-filled air of a Daemon World thinned around the object and made it crackling with energy. Judanus handed it to the former Apothecary.

"What is that? It feels... like Zerg," muttered Lilgath.

Judanus chuckled.

"I would not disregard their connection, but it is a bait for the Zerg. I wish to know if the Zerg can deal with a full fledged Daemon World."

Lilgath narrowed his eyes.

"Why the Telepathica Matrix? Why not just leave it out?"

"Its signal needs a boost, and what better way than to use an Imperial facility for it?" asked Judanus. "Besides, I need to show my strength here. I need to deal with the Daemon Prince, and if I cannot show my powers to be sufficient, we are going to be devoured whole."

The Chaos Lord paused and gestured at the creatures gathering below.

"Take your Berserkers and our new recruits to take the facility. I shall visit the Daemon Prince in the meantime."

"What of the rest of your army?" questioned Lilgath.

"My sorcerers will keep them in line. Now, go!"

"Yes, Lord Judanus."

Judanus watched as Lilgath left the watchtower. His expressions darkened as he narrowed his eyes. His thoughts were unreadable. Once he saw Lilgath back on the ground floor and gathering up his troops, Judanus ran his forked tongue over his cracked lips.

"Lilgath... how long will you keep up that charades? Hmm... Does not matter though... None shall know my endgame," whispered the Chaos Lord.

* * *

><p>The Citadel of Black Pyre stood where the Hive City of Sitrosia once stood. The ancient cityscape that had withstood the test of over eight thousand years had been ground into dust and raised into a single massive temple to terrors of the Warp. The whole structure was a giant city in itself, and forged by the billion souls of the Hive City and carved into the onyx stones with bones of the tortured, the Citadel was both a monument of the Daemon Prince's success as well as a symbol of his power.<p>

Here, the great Daemon Prince Nar'heskor the Strangler sat in his throne of charred spines and drank the souls of the slaves. Attended by the ten thousand Daemons of all four Ruinous Powers, the Daemon Prince of Chaos Undivided had once been a Chapter Master of a Renegade Chapter, whose names had long been lost. He had thrown his lot with the Ruinous Powers, and with the aid and support of none other than Lorgar himself, Nar'heskor had committed so many terrible deeds in the name of the Dark Gods.

Made famous for slaying the Chapter Masters of three Space Marine Chapters by strangling them with his bare hands, the fallen Champion had led the horribly corrupted members of his Renegade Chapter across the galaxy, often working as a mercenary to Greater Daemons and other powerful players. His ascension came when he had recovered an item that once belonged to Horus, and presented it to Abaddon the Despoiler. Abaddon gave him a blessing of a thousand Black Legion Chaos Marines to conquer a holy Shrine World on the edge of the Segmentum Solar.

Nar'heskor conquered, pillaged and burned the whole sector before plunging into that Shrine World, and captured the bones of an Imperial Saint, and took the preserved head of the Saint's body. Drinking the preserved brain and burning the head until only a charred skull remained, he committed himself in an obscene ritual with the whole planet as his sacrifice. A billion souls were drained and poured into him as his physical body cracked and tore open into the Immaterium.

Despite the unendurable pain, he had survived the process and his body was filled with the power of the Warp and the Dark Gods who reveled in the desecration of an Imperial Saint. The reality-warping powers of the Dark Gods seeped into him, and every atom of his body phased into the Warp, and his was cast into a new Daemon Prince. The new Daemon Prince led his warriors into the Warp and had stayed away for a thousand years before returning to reality and carving a bloody path through many Imperial worlds.

The most recent of his conquest had been the Subsector Sitron, and it had fallen so quickly. He used up most of planet Sitron's population as a sacrifice to spark a Warp Storm that engulfed most of the Sitron Subsector and Iduras Subsector and several other worlds beyond the Riax Sector iself. Now he sat on his dark throne in silent contemplation as a newcomer came visiting.

~_**I have heard of you, Judanus the Mercenary.**_~

"You flatter me, lord Nar'heskor. To have one of such unholy defilement as yourself to even hear of little old me, is an honor in itself," replied Judanus, kneeling in his Terminator Armor before the Daemon Prince.

~_**You speak well for a sell-sword, Judanus. You intrigue me... You are a sorcerer yet you possess no natural psychic talents. Still, you wield fearsome sorcery, and your ability to bind daemons into various artifacts have impressed M'kar to no end. I also have heard your name from the Black Legion, as their sorcerers whisper of a 'false psyker' who dared to presume a seat among the cabals,**_~ said the Daemon Prince.

Judanus chuckled.

"My deeds are but that of a mewling infant to your greatness. There is no need to be impressed by my minor feats, my lord."

The Daemon Prince stared at the Chaos Lord with his five burning eyes. The gaze itself was like searing fire, and Judanus could feel the heat rising.

~_**Now, why have you come to my world uninvited and seek a counsel with me? What mischief have you brought to my doors?**_~

"There is a foe."

~_**Hmm?**_~

"It is a powerful foe, from which Ahriman himself was defeated and fled from."

Now that had gotten the attention of the Daemon Prince.

~_**I have not heard of any misgiving whispers about that great sorcerer Ahriman of the Thousand Sons having trouble. I hear that he now seeks the Black Library, a feat that only the insane or the most powerful would attempt, but I have not heard of his defeat,**_~ muttered Nar'heskor, before returning his gaze back upon Judanus. ~_**I have not survived and thrived to this day without knowing nothing. I hear much, Judanus, and Ahriman is not a figure so easy to defeat. More than one Greater Daemon or a Daemon Prince has challenged the Arch Sorcerer, and I have yet to hear of Ahriman's skull on anyone's trophy rack.**_~

Judanus opened his palm and a spell of images exploded in his hand to reveal a Hydralisk.

"A xeno species call the 'Zerg' has emerged in the dark corners of the galaxy, and they have a gestalt mind that forms into something called the 'Overmind', and it has conflicted with Ahriman in a duel of minds," explained Judanus. "I was there when Ahriman hurriedly retreated back through the portal that he has opened for my escape from the swarm."

Suddenly, the Daemon Prince burst into laughter.

~_**Ahriman has been defeated thus? Hahaha!**_~

Judanus waited until Nar'heskor was done with laughter and resumed his burning stare at the Chaos Lord.

~_**It still does not shed a light on what you want from me, sorcerer. Speak your mind, and I shall deal fairly with you...**_~

Judanus nodded.

"I have few men, my lord. A modest force of ragtag warriors, a handful of Cultists and slaves bred for war. What I need more than anything is to fill my ranks with decent hands. Daemons could be coaxed from the Immaterium with sacrifices, but Astartes are not so easily gained."

~_**Ah... You want a Warband to challenge,**_~ mused the Daemon Prince. ~_**I do have several here who are not so worthy to stand with me, but I have yet to whittle them down.**_~

"All I ask is an introduction, my lord. A good acquaintance is hard to come by," replied Judanus with a wicked smile.

~_**I like your thinking, Judanus,**_~ said Nar'heskor before turning to one of his own sorcerers. ~_**Nsh'kov, I think we shall use the gladiatorial pit again this day. Prepare it for a match, and summon Shatras and his Warband.**_~

"Yes, lord," answered the sorcerer who quickly vanished in a puff of warp smoke.

"Shatras?" asked Judanus.

~_**He is technically a Champion of Slaanesh, but he dabbles with Tzeentchian sorcery and Nurglite weapons, and he leads a modest group of ragtag warriors. I believe his defeat could provide you with more than a handful of Chaos Marines that you desperately need,**_~ replied the Daemon Prince.

"A most gracious thanks should be paid to you, my lord. I assure you that I shall come running for whatever and whenever your next great conquest entails. You may depend on my unending support for your greatness," said Judanus as he bowed again.

* * *

><p>Shatras swallowed a heavy breath as he deftly dodged the swing of the Hellblade wielded by Judanus. Even so, the daemonic fire that burned the air drove him back, his own daemon weapons howling for satisfaction. Judanus moved so fast despite the bulk of his daemon-bound Terminator Armor, and it had such great stubbornness against the attacks of the Slaanesh Champion.<p>

Growling, Shatras thrust his sword into the chest of the offending Chaos Lord only to have the sword that burned in lustful pink flames bounce off the sudden explosion of blue Warpfire. Already bleeding in places, Shatras jumped back just as the daemon axe that Judanus held in his left hand came crashing down on his head. Both Champions of Chaos could hear the satisfied gurgle of the daemon's delight as the axe made a chink on the chest plate of Shatras' armor, who retaliated by sending forth a wave of sonic pulse made up of deafening noises that would have driven a mortal insane in its troubled lyrics alone.

Yet, Judanus was no ordinary creature, and with a swing of his Hellblade, he had forged himself a shield of bloody mist, calling for the power of Khorne, the sworn enemy of Slaanesh. The sound wave exploded against the wall of blood and Judanus throw his daemon axe at the Slaanesh Champion, letting it bounce off the right shoulder pauldron. It had struck hard enough to made a deep gash in the armor but in bouncing off, it had made the Champion stumble.

A swift strike of the Hellblade brought Shatras to one knee as the two daemon swords clashed against each other. The daemon blade forged from the bones and illogical intestines of a Daemonette sizzled against the Hellblade where the original owner of the sword was forcibly bound into then intentionally driven mad. Using the last of his strength, Shatras forced Judanus back and attacked him with an incredible flurry of swordplay.

Judanus could barely block half the attacks, but the Terminator Armor held and the daemon inside screamed in pain and misery, only feeding Judanus with glee. A moment of hesitation and doubt clouded Shatras before the Hellblade loped off the right arm of the Slaanesh Champion. Then Judanus' visor glowed in unearthly blue glow and his left hand grabbed the handle of his true Daemon Sword Ga'huld.

The horns of his helmet crackled as purple and blue lightnings of terrible Warp magic coursed through between them. Then a pouring of teal fire narrowed into a single beam fired from between the horns at the Slaanesh Champion. The beam struck the middle of Shatras' chest, and bright cracks appeared and spread throughout.

BOOM!

Shatras exploded and only skeleton remained intact, bound by the terrible spell that Judanus had cast. Judanus was not going let Shatras die so easily. He wanted to torment the creature, and he pulled out Ga'huld and sank it into the skull of the glowing skeleton, and a horrid scream of Shatras echoed. Ga'uld burst into fire and lighting and spray of eerie aura that delighted in its rare sustenance. The soul was devoured and Ga'huld was sate for a moment.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

The booming clap of the Daemon Prince shook the moment, and Judanus, retrieving his weapons with a single gesture, bowed to the powerful Daemon Prince. Nar'heskor stood up from his seat, standing twice as tall as the Chaos Marines around him.

~_**WITNESS! A new Champion of the Dark Gods has risen! He has defeated Shatras and now he has the right to enforce his will upon more souls! Let the Warp rejoice at the violence and evil we have committed here this day!**_~

Judanus was not done. Even as his bodyguard of his former brothers in Rubric form gathered around him, he marched to the members of Shatras' Warband who now stood with some uncertainty.

"You are now mine to command!" roared Judanus at the gathered warriors.

He gazed at them, seeking any challenger to strike down in a moment. Two full squads of Slaanesh -aligned Chaos Marines in their bright purple armor lined with gold and pink stood with their helmet-less faces covered in dried human face skins, while two unaligned Chaos Marine squads gathered from various renegade elements bowed before their new lord.

The five Havocs with their heavy weapons bowed down next, while the Warpsmith and five Noise Marines hesitated. When Judanus placed his hand over Ga'huld and his body immolated into a ball of sorcerous Warpfire, they too bowed. Judanus relented, and now satisfied that he gained the tentative allegiance of fifty-one Chaos Marines and how many hundreds of Cultists and Traitor Guardsmen Shatras had once commanded, he returned to his own camp.

After speaking more praises to the Daemon Prince, Judanus returned to the abandoned town he had set up shop, now turned into decent fortification by the works of his sorcerers.

"My lord Judanus," bowed one of the five Chaos Sorcerers that he commanded.

"Synth'r, you've done well with this place. It looks decent enough," commented Judanus as he gestured his new warriors into the town.

"You've gained some more men, my lord. It is a good omen."

Judanus growled and his eyes flashed. The Sorcerer was suddenly gripped with powerful telekinetic force that bound every fiber of his muscles. As the pressure mounted, Judanus warned the Sorcerer.

"Do not presume to speak of things that you do not understand. These are but pitiful rabbles that I would use as bait. They are nothing, and I should not be congratulated on a nothing."

Released, the Sorcerer knelt before the Chaos Lord.

"I have meant no disrespect, lord," huffed the Sorcerer, frightened of Judanus' powers.

"Have Lilgath returned?"

"Yes, my lord. The Apothecary has returned, and the casualty was not so high. However..." murmured the Sorcerer.

"Do not mumble, Sorcerer! Speak what you have in your mind."

The Sorcerer stood back up, and gestured toward the tower.

"Your Apothecary, while supposedly serving Lord Khorne, there is something about him," answered the Sorcerer.

"What misgivings have you got on Lilgath?" asked Judanus.

"I have a unique mutation, my lord. I smell someone's soul. I have lived a long time, my lord, and I have met many Champions of Khorne. They feel like muck. Like mind blocked by walls of blood, and they stink of it," said Synth'r. "Yet, your Apothecary does not smell like that. In fact, I smell... fire."

"Fire?"

Judanus paused for a moment. He then smiled.

"So, you've felt that too... Come with me... This place is too open to talk of this," gestured Judanus.

The two turned the corner to hide behind the wall, and just as the Sorcerer turned around to talk, the Hellblade plunged into the Sorcerer's chest.

"I already know about Lilgath, but your mouth seem so insecure about important things that you should be silent about, Synth'r."

Daemon Sword Ga'huld was fed again a moment later.

"What happened to Synth'r, my lord? Why is he dead?" asked Lilgath when Judanus returned to the watchtower overlooking the fortified town.

"You were watching," said Judanus without his expression breaking.

"Of course, I was watching. I was here, and this place overlooks the whole town."

Judanus chuckled.

"Would you believe me if I tell you that Synth'r was making a bid for your spot beside me?" questioned Judanus, watching Lilgath carefully.

Lilgath laughed out aloud.

"That moron thought he could best me, by fibbing on me?"

"Laughable, isn't it? I was not in the mood for politics, and I had decided to make it simple."

Lilgath made a little disrespectful bow in thanks.

"I am sure I could have dealt with him, but thanks anyway."

Judanus chuckled before gesturing toward distant something.

"Your mission?"

"Your mysterious crystal has been installed within the machine, and I have left the Horrors trapped within the machinery to work. Whatever that is, it is shooting a powerful signal into the galaxy."

Judanus smiled.

"Excellent. Now, we only need to wait for it."

Lilgath cocked his head.

"Wait for what?"

"The Zerg."

* * *

><p>Within days, the Swarm descended upon the Daemon World.<p>

Even as the Swarm fought the Imperial defenders across the Riax Sector, forcing the Inquisitorial forces off Istandor and sent them running, they had opened up smaller Wormholes. The Wormhole on the edge of Muran, Irox and Iduras Subsectors crippled the Imperial defenders there. Though the worlds of those three Subsectors had their own enemies to fight, they did not expect the Zerg Swarm.

The Imperial forces on Muron, Mita, Irox, Vincan Systems and the Fortress World of Nanis Septimus on the edge of Riax Sector proper were all on war-footing as the 'Waaagh! Tuffang' pushed on slowly but relentlessly. Having their defending fleets crippled by the Zerg was bad for these worlds in defending against the Roks that Orks had thrown at them every once a while, but the Roks quickly become the least of their problems when Zerg forces began to land en mass.

Iduras Subsector was half swallowed by the Warp Storm, and two of its four system held strong. With the defensive fleet gathered around Iduras System, the Imperials were successfully defending the remaining systems from the Chaos Daemons, while the remaining two systems of Sitron Subsector were not having such luck. As for the Chaos problem, the appearance of the Zerg Swarm eased the tension, only to be replaced by an alien-invasion problem instead.

However, even the seemingly endless Zerg Swarm was limited, and they had to prioritize. So, they moved according to their own plans, unknown to the Imperials, Orks or the Chaos forces. When the Zerg Swarm appeared over the Sitron Prime, the Chaos fleet of the Daemon Prince was rather surprised.

* * *

><p>~<em><strong>This is the enemy that you've spoken of, Judanus?<strong>_~ asked Nar'heskor as the skies darkened with the thousands of Drop Sacs falling from the sky.

"Yes, my lord. I have fought them before, and now they are everywhere. I have been around the galaxy, and the edges of the Imperium suffers from the presences of these xeno infestation. Some sectors have been under siege for more than half a year, and others had suffered a full conquest within months or even weeks," answered Judanus as scores of Drop Sacs exploded under the Daemonic anti-air weapons of the Citadel. "And yet the Imperium knows too little about them."

For a moment, the Daemon Prince wondered if Judanus had somehow brought these creatures, but then cast the thought aside.

~_**I shall taste battle once more... and it had been such a long time.**_~

However, Judanus was playing a good adviser.

"I would advise against tackling the xeno forces head on. They are quite ferocious, and I would hate to see you... humbled."

The Daemon Prince roared in anger, and his massive hand pinned the Terminator-clad Chaos Lord to the wall.

~_**You dare question my strength? Have I given you such leniency to speak such blasphemy? I am Nar'heskor! I am a Daemon Prince! I rule this world and a million denizens of the Warp! These rabbles shall be swept aside in my wake!**_~

Judanus coughed.

"Forgive my cowardice, my lord Nar'heskor. After all, I have sworn to stand by your side, and that is why I do not wish your presence in the front lines of this war," answered Judanus. "However, if you do, I shall be your right hand... for a price."

~_**Always a maker of deals, Judanus? That's what I like about you, whelp. You are a good mercenary. Your experiences with these creatures would prove valuable, and I am a fair god. What do you want from me?**_~

"I have always desired for a Power Claw of some ancient powers that I can bind a powerful daemon into it. I have heard that you possess a Power Claw forged from the horns of a Bloodthirster, adorned by the adamantium claws and powered by an Eldar Spirit Stone entangled in a spell wrought with the blood of a Herald of Tzeentch."

The five eyes of the Daemon Prince widened in surprise.

~_**You are truly a bold one to ask that of me, young one. Three mighty warriors of Chaos sought to claim the 'Hand of Soulrend', and each have died an agonizing death at my hand, and the skull of one sit right there. His soul still burns in flames of damnation.**_~

Judanus looked at the iron-coated skull of an Astartes with fire writhing inside. Nar'heskor looked at Judanus for a while even as the distant horizon showed a thin line of Zerg creatures.

~_**Yet, none has asked for it so... well. You have seized the moment perfectly, Judanus. I sense that these Zerg xenos are powerful, and I would hate to lose your good services. I am quite a realist, a contradiction coming from a lord of unreality, but my pragmatism has served me well thus far.**_~

"Is it a deal, my lord?"

~_**You have yourself a deal, Judanus. Until the end of this invasion, and to the end of the Zerg.**_~

It was Judanus' turn to hesitate.

"To the end of Zerg... You drive a hard bargain, my lord. I suppose a single Power Claw is not enough for an eternity of service."

Nar'heskor chuckled.

~_**Do not fear, little Judanus. I am a gracious master... if you serve me well.**_~

"I suppose, taking my place as your right hand doesn't sound too bad."

~_**Hahahaha... Indeed, whelp. Now, to battle! GLORIOUS BATTLE!**_~

* * *

><p>The first confrontation was a titanic one.<p>

The Hierarch Zasz had known about Sitron Prime being a Daemon World, and he had sent a bulk of his forces to the planet. This was nothing like the little skirmish that happened on Argol II with a few million unupgraded creatures. This was a full blown war.

Thousands of Drop Sacs exploded upon the ground and released so many creatures and so much Creep that massive areas were covered in the thick ooze within minutes. Creatures of every echelon of Zerg Swarm gathered in their full glories. Led by a Patriarch named Serbon led the war.

The theater of war was massive. The first battle was not small at all. This was an apocalyptic scale and both sides delighted in war. The Zerg pushed forward from their landing spots. From seven landing locations came the Zerg armies.

The main force of the Zerg army made up of many elite creatures was led by Serbon himself, and moved against the former Hive City of Sitris, the third largest Hive City where it had been given over to the worship of Slaanesh, and its inhabitants turned into slaves of the three Slaanesh Warbands that controlled it. Commanded by the uncompromising will of the Daemon Prince who ruled the Daemon World, the Warbands of Sitris marshaled to war.

The second force of the Zerg army, mainly of Raptors and other fast-moving creatures including massive gaggles of Mutalisks, marched on toward the Shadow Barrens, the nesting ground for the Nurglite creatures. The once barren toxic swamps where six Hive Cities poured out their sewerage turned into the perfect breeding ground for many of Nurgle's little creatures. In the middle of this wide area stood the Rot Keep, a fortification made of decaying materials of nearby towns and cities. Here a Warband split from the Death Guard Legion held their ground, their mighty Sorcerer Lord calling forth myriad of creatures from the Garden of Nurgle.

A heavy and tough creatures formed the fourth section of the Zerg invaders. Made up of significant number of Ultralisks and even Zerglings with mutations that allowed for tougher constitution, the fourth army moved against the Forest of Blackfire, a realm given over to the ever-changing nature of Tzeentch. A cabal of Sorcerers led their warriors and a large army of Horrors came pouring out from their strange forest to do battle.

The fifth task force of the Zerg Swarm was the artillery troop mixed with tens of thousands of Baneling families. Aiding the sixth and the largest of the Zerg war group, they sought to assail the Citadel of Black Pyre, the former capital Hive Sitrosia. Against this, the Daemon Prince Nar'heskor the Strangler brought forth his massive daemonic armies and his mortal warriors to do battle. Huge Daemon Engines numbered in scores while Chaos Marines of various colors came running in thirst of battle. Hundreds of thousands daemons appeared from nowhere to do slaughter upon the invaders.

* * *

><p>Deep red blood of a Zergling splattered upon the shoulder pauldron of the Chaos Marine. The bright orange and the hot magenta painted upon the Chaos Marine of the Child of Convulsion Warband could not be seen after the eighteenth Zergling that splattered against the Chaos Marine. The horribly corrupted bolter decorated with human skin was running out of ammunition, but there was no moment to reload. Their enemy gave them no respite, not even a single minute.<p>

Every warrior of Sitris came out to defend their shrine to the pleasure and pain. One hundred sixty four Chaos Marines of Slaanesh, twenty two Noise Marines, five Slaanesh Sorcerers, twelve Leman Russ stolen from the Imperials, six Chaos Dreadnoughts led by two Hellbrutes and fourteen thousand Traitor Guardsmen stood their grounds. An assortment of four Basilisks and two Manticores as well as fifteen Chimeras also aided the forces of Slaanesh Warbands. However, the Zerg knew the real threat came from the three thousand Daemonettes and scores of daemonic War Chariots of Slaanesh.

From the first salvo from the defenders, over two thousand Zerglings melted into pools of blood and guts, but there were always more where they came from. Five thousand Zerglings ran headlong into the enemy lines. Just prior to landing, they had been mutated to have the Plasma Shield for durability and Metabolic Boost for movement speed, allowing them to close in faster against their enemies.

Behind the first wave of Zergling came Raptors and Roaches. Roaches strains formed powerful and tough armored lines. Beetles, the heavy-armored evolution of Roaches were given Superlative Carapace and Adaptive Plating, extending their durability to maximum. Bolt rounds and autocannon shells barely made dents against the thick and powerful armor of the Beetles, and distracted by the waves of Zerglings, the line of Beetles protected the Raptors hiding behind the larger creatures.

As soon as they got within a certain distance, squadrons of Raptors suddenly leaped into the air, and using their Communal Gliding mutation, they buzzed their wings together and glided gracefully through the air. Surprised at the sudden attack from above, the Traitor Guards turned their lasguns and autoguns at the Raptors landing around them. Then came the Ultralisks exploding out from the ground below.

Even as the battle just outside the walls of the Hive Sitris intensified, the war finally entered the inside the wall. Zerg knew that the key to this battle was to defeat the endless number of Daemonettes was to stifle the energy signature they detected within the walls of the Hive City. Patriarch led his elite units and used his considerable psionic power and the special equipment given to him by Zasz to teleport his team to the city. By fusing the Blink ability of the Protoss Dark Templars and the Recall technology, the Zerg had created a short-range teleportation, though it had drained Serbon of a significant psionic energy.

Serbon found himself and his retinue across the street from the defenders who used the knowledge of the local terrain to secure themselves, while the low watchtower could be seen just beyond where he felt the energy of the Warp pouring out. Two Hydralisk squads, one Smoker/Roach squad, two Raptor squads and an Ultralisk was all he could teleport, but he knew his enemies were not too numerous either.

First move was that of the Zerg. As they moved forward between the buildings, the Hunter leading one of the elite Hydralisk squads sensed enemies. It had been an assassin's acute sense that allowed the Hunter to hear the enemy. The squad of fourteen Hydralisks led by a Hunter fired their spines at the squad of Traitor Guardsmen who turned the corner from a former PDF armory. Eight of the Traitor Guards died while their hasty retaliation of lasgun and bolt pistol did nothing but wound a Hydralisk to a minor degree.

A Raptor squad was not so lucky. The shot from a Blastmaster struck the Raptor Alpha right in the face, and the creature exploded, along with three other Raptors around it. Raptors quickly found themselves faced with a squad of five Noise Marines, four of whom carried Sonic Blaster that sprayed the Raptors with mind-shattering screams and terrifying music. Of the remaining twenty-six Raptors, eleven of them died instantly, their brains exploding. Others quickly launched themselves at the Noise Marines.

The Smoker and Roach squad moved directly toward the watchtower, blowing thick smog of toxic gas, allowing the squad to reach the offending Chaos Marine squad hiding behind a stack of rubble. A deadly melee ensued as the Roaches and Smokers drove their claws into the Chaos Marines, who fought back hard with their own combat knives and Chainswords. Still, surprised by the Roaches exploding out from the ground and the toxic gas that seeped in even through their helmets took their toll and the three remaining Chaos Marines were forced to retreat while killing only four Roaches out of fifteen.

Even as the lone Ultralisk engaged the Hellbrute with the aid of Raptors, the remaining Hydralisk squad peppered the unsuspecting Havoc squad from behind, using their burrow-move ability that was now a standard mutation for almost every Zerg ground creature. Taking down the Havoc easily, the Hydralisk squad turned their attention to the Traitor Guards on the roof of one of the buildings. Despite the stinging shots of autoguns and lasguns, only two Hydralisks died by the time they had taken the rooftop and engaged the Traitor Guards in melee.

Meanwhile, the Patriarch had Blinked right into the middle of a Chaos Marine squad on the roof near the watchtower, and using his four Warp Blade Claws to shred the Chaos Marines into pieces. Not even their Warp-corrupted Power Armors could handle the Power of the Void held within the modified Psi-Blade now used by the Zerg who are ironically the sworn enemy of the Protoss race. Cutting off limbs and heads with ease, the Patriarch quickly located his target, but guarded by a squad of five Chaos Terminators and the Slaanesh Champion.

Gathering to him the surviving Hydralisks and Roaches, Serbon charged into the defenders. Short but bloody battle was engaged. Claws clad in glowing Warp Blade slashed against the Daemon Weapons and Power Weapons of the Chaos forces, while the spines and acid spits were exchanged for bolter rounds. Yet, even the might of the Terminators could not hold against the Patriarch and his immense combat power. Four Terminators were quickly dispatched while Serbon did lost most of his shield, then he moved to tear apart the Slaanesh Champion.

With defenders gone, Serbon climbed the tower and shattered the statue of Slaanesh and devoured the 999 sacrificed souls that burned to fuel the summoning of daemons. Serbon's victorious roar shook the Sitris, and soon the Slaanesh forces were crushed under.

* * *

><p>In the next few days, similar thing happened to the Forest of Blackfire as the Tzeetchian Warbands were melted down by the endless acid that followed the stampede of Ultralisks over the Horrors of Tzeentch, whose daemonic fires could not fell a fully upgraded Ultralisks so easily. The Shadow Barrens and their Nurglite defenders also suffered ignoble end as the fast hit-and-run tactics eventually wore down the tough but slow Plague Marines, and while the numerous Battle Flies, Rot Flies and Blight Drones sought hunt down the numerous Raptors, they too were countered by the Mutalisks and Gattlisks as well as several swarms of Scourges.<p>

The fifth and sixth Zerg invader groups, however, suffered a different end. Even as they flooded the fields before the Citadel of the Daemon Prince himself, the battle was not so easy. Each moment that a section of Chaos forces may come close to crumbling, the Daemon Prince Nar'heskor the Strangler would swoop in and waded through the ranks of Zerg creatures. Dozens of Slayers with powerful mutation to lead troops were found and slain by Judanus even as the Chaos Defilers rained down artillery of death upon the Zerg forces.

However, the Daemon Prince made a strategic mistake of venturing out. After four days of defending against the two massive Zerg armies that resulted in the near obliteration of the sixth army and the retreat of Baneling/Banelord group, Nar'heskor sought to reclaim lost territories. Shadow Barrens was retaken by the Daemon Prince though the value of that region had plummeted, requiring sacrifices of millions to return it to its former sickly glory. The Daemon Prince used his significant powers to raise mounds of diseased insect nests to resume the summoning of Plague Bearers and Nurglings, but as he wasted three days and elite forces on the Shadow Barrens, the Zerg returned to the Citadel, laying siege.

Nar'heskor quickly returned to break the siege but the citadel was already covered in powerful acid everywhere as the Banelings and Banelords relentlessly bombarded the city and its defenders. With over two hundred thousand Cultists and Traitor Guards dissolved into goo and others all wounded, the Daemon Prince screamed in impotent rage. Judanus riled him up, and together they assailed the Hive City of Sitris, retaking it only to find every one its slave-population consumed by the Zerg. Disappointed, the Daemon Prince returned to the Citadel to find the city under siege once again, and though curious as to how the Zerg replenished the troops so easily and quickly, the Daemon Prince cleared away his enemies yet again.

Another week passed and while under heavy assault every day, the Daemon Prince found his grip on the Daemon Worlds slowly slipping away. He summoned forth more energy from the Empyrean and surged the world with his energy, and found large parts of the planet where his powers were silenced and sapped. He now understood that the armies of Zerg he had defeated had been but a small part of the whole. Not only did the Zerg come with such numbers and power that they had utterly distracted him from the bigger picture, they had nearly wrecked the capital city as well.

It was at this time that Judanus came up with a news. He had located the leader of the Zerg army on Sitron. Nar'heskor marshaled his forces to slay the Patriarch.

* * *

><p>~<em><strong>Impossible! I am Nar'heskor the Strangler, the Daemon Prince of immense power, and here I am forced to flee!<strong>_~ roared the Daemon Prince as he swept his sword and shattered six Hydralisks that blocked his path.

Behind him was Judanus and Lilgath with a handful of remaining Chaos Marines. The Daemon Prince had lost much of his army this day, and he was not about to lose his faithful followers. Even as a wave of Raptors and Zerglings hounded Judanus, the Daemon Prince turned and roared. Spikes of bone and Warpfire exploded out from the ground and skewered a dozen Raptors and Zerglings.

~_**Come, Judanus... We will have to revisit this with a vengeance,**_~ growled the Daemon Prince as he opened up a portal to his Citadel. ~_**Quickly, these wounds that they have inflicted are not so ignorable.**_~

"Yes, my lord," answered Judanus as he and his followers entered through the portal.

~_**You, the xeno commander! I remember your scent now. I will come for you again, one day...**_~ shouted the Daemon Prince as he began to shrink himself to enter the portal.

Being forced to create a portal with limited energy, he made it smaller than usual, and he was forced to shrink to the size just shy of a Dreadnought, and he squeezed himself into the portal.

~_**I will have vengeance even if it takes a thousand years! These foul xeno will not escape my wrath!**_~

"I'm afraid not."

~_**Huh?**_~

Blam!

It sounded like a cannon's blast, but it was a Power Claw punching and digging into his chest. Chains wrapped around the Daemon Prince's arms and legs, and Lilgath sank a massive over-sized axe into Nar'heskor's face horizontally, blinding two of the five eyes.

~**Judanus! You dare betray me? I am a god among mortals! Your soul is mine! I shall eat your soul!**~ screamed the wounded Daemon Prince as he flailed helplessly even as Judanus dug in deeper with the Power Claw that Nar'heskor had gifted him.

Blinded and his flesh bound, the Daemon Prince's agony did not stop nor could he break free. There was something about the weapon that Judanus had used. The Power Claw was something else now. It weakened him and it shook his very soul. It made the Daemon Prince afraid.

"I have found your heart, and with it your corrupted and deformed soul turned into that of a daemon. This is your Essence. Without this, your flesh dies here, and you will be cast into the winds of the Immaterium, but with this Power Claw lined with the Zerg crystals, I can capture your soul and drain it," whispered Judanus. "And I shall purge you of all memory and consciousness, and you shall remain only as a pure energy that I can wield in any form."

The Daemon Prince was incoherent now. The agony of this daemonic soul ripped from his flesh was too much, and the very real fear of losing the immortality that he had gained through so much sacrifice and difficulties was a scary thought.

The thought ended when Judanus pulled out the glowing heart. It sizzled with power and crackled with insanity. After gazing at it for a moment, Judanus placed it in a secure warded container, before shattering the ash-turned body of the Daemon Prince.

"We are all dust and ashes, and you will not be remembered," muttered Judanus the Betrayer, the name that only Lilgath now remembered.

"Are we done now?" asked Lilgath.

"Yes, we are. Let us depart this wretched world. With this daemon heart, I can fuel the machine of war that will bring down the galaxy," smiled Judanus.

* * *

><p><span><strong>END OF CHAPTER 54<strong>


	55. Chapter 55 - Intermission Episode 3

Okay, I'm back with another chapter of the Swarm of War.

I know I promised to write more of the Galactic Imperium and the Path to Godhood, but I kinda got stuck. I hate writing small talks between characters that contributes too little to character development or plot development. I hate those placeholders, but sometimes they are necessary.

Also, the Blood Master is again pushed to a later chapter, and was replaced by the Overmind's preparation against the Tyranids.

I hope you enjoy this 10k+ worded chapter, and any comments are welcomed with both arms.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 55 – Intermission Episodes 3<span>**

I am the Overmind.

I gaze into the stars and I see my destiny. I see the Swarm's destiny.

No longer is the goal of old ours, but a new purpose makes us thrive.

To be in this hostile and dangerous galaxy, there can be only one goal.

Survival.

That must always be our goal.

Adaptation, mutation and assimilation are all good, but they mean nothing if we are but dust and ashes.

For that reason, and that that reason only, I am picking a fight with the Imperium and all the others in this galaxy. It has always been the way of the Zerg to place themselves in situations that are less than ideal, and adapt to survive. We could always cozy up in our small corner of the galaxy, but eventually, someone will come knocking. If it came to that, I should be the one knocking.

Then there was the matter of Tyranids.

They were so much like us yet so different. Once we encounter them, it would be a true fight to the death. I see now that either I absorb their Hivemind and consume the vastness of the Tyranids, or they would devour my Swarm. I do not fancy the latter.

I must grow stronger. We must grow stronger.

Yet, I am not a fool.

I do not pick fights that I cannot win. I do not pick fights that would result in worse situation. Every attack I order in this phase of our expansion is a conclusion to that ideology. Each strike was carefully planned and considered. Every sector, subsector, solar system and planet that my Swarm assails would accumulate into a bigger picture.

Riax was one such attempt, though as in all things, something went wrong. I did not expect the Inquisition. Then again, nobody expects the Inquisition. Still, the Inquisitorial fleet under Hadrian of Ordo Xenos is fleeing this way and that as the disturbances in the Warp grows stronger as my grasp of that sector reaches deeper. Even before the discovery of Argol II and its Virus Bombs, Riax had existed on my radar quite early.

Thanks to the Maw of Kali, the Warp Storm that spreads over vast areas despite the relative weakness of its turmoils, I have found a perfect location to stymie any Imperial incursions into that region of the galaxy. While none of my enemies knew of my plans, my control of Riax sector would cut off seven more sectors from the rest of the Imperium. This valuable Warp-space corridor between the Warp Storm and the Ork infested regions, Riax stands as the only safe haven for passing ships. When I finish turning the sector into a galactic version of the Bermuda Triangle, the Imperium would lose seven whole sectors to me while unable to fashion any response for quite a long time.

Similarly, there were several other invasions that were meant to create same effect across the outer edges of the Imperium. There are regions where the Astronomicon, that blinding golden light that sears into my thoughts each time I send probes of my mind closer to Earth, is weaker than in others. It is those areas that I sought out in particular. I have sent my Swarms to several strategically critical locations such as 'Tysia Nebula' that protected the 'Azure Star Cluster' from the roaming Dark Eldar raiders, 'Furnace of Souls' which was a massive neutron star whose gravity held together fourteen surrounding solar systems from being devoured by the Warp Storm 'Adenovilia' summoned by a Greater Daemon of Nurgle, and the 'Cerberus Gates' which happened to be a Warp-stable corridor near the southern edge of the Halo Stars that allowed the Imperium access to twelve sectors beyond.

These critical locations would force the Imperium to intervene were it not for more visible strikes of targets that the Imperium may consider with greater sentimental value. One such target would be the 'Hail of Sanguina', an ion storm that has raged throughout history dividing the four Imperial sectors from the Daemon World Helspania, where some Khornate Daemon Prince of ancient origins seeks to conquer Baal, the homeworld of the Blood Angels. From what my Spylings could gather, the ancient texts studied by the scholars of Shrine World Vistona just beyond the ion storm indicate that the Daemon Prince has made a pact with a great daemon, and knowing my Warhammer 40k lore I guessed it may be the Greater Daemon Ka'Bandha. Given the vast and deep knowledge of the Protoss and the Xel'naga had about the universe, it wasn't very hard to poke a hole in that ion storm. If I could unleash the daemons through that hole toward the general direction Blood Angels, it would distract the Imperium greatly.

Yet, such were of lesser import than the real targets of the first phase.

What I really needed were staging grounds safe from the gazes of my enemies. I was building a league of a hundred worlds each full of billions upon billions of Zerg ready to pounce upon the galaxy. I know it would not be enough to overrun the galaxy, but it would be advantageous. Particularly, the worlds in the path of what I could recollect about the Tyranid invasion were of critical importance. Given the time frame, each of such worlds I would set up against the Tyranids would be filled with hundreds of billions of Zerg and using the superior technology of the Protoss and the Xel'naga, I was hoping to triumph against the Tyranids.

Had we been like the original Zerg, we would easily be crushed under the vastness of the Tyranid swarm, but my Swarm was different. Though mainly Zerg, I still had all the legacy of the Protoss and the Xel'naga. The potency of their ancient knowledge did not diminish within my hands one iota, and the meta-reality understanding of this universe that came from James Malcolm Raynor was a boon greater in value than what I had initially surmised.

I turned one of the many tentacles of my peripheral consciousness toward one such planet that I planned to use against the very first wave of Tyranids, knowing that the Ultramarines would defeat the main fleet elements of the Hivefleet Behemoth. In preparation, I have sent a special seed to this world. Led by the Hierarch Lucifer, the Satan Brood was vested with significant powers and a direct line to me. Perhaps it was a whim, but I had named several of the Brood's commanding creatures with Christian demon names. I thought it fitting.

* * *

><p><strong>Ultima Segmentum<strong>

**Imperial Designation – Planet 3U43-T183**

**Zerg Designation – The Crucible**

Situated somewhere between the realm of Ultramar and the mysterious Hadex Anomaly, the minor random solar system was remarked upon by the Imperium many thousands of years ago. No settlers had ever reached this system, and despite the Imperial scouts long have had this system on their most detailed maps, it was a very unremarkable. Five planets that orbited a harsh blue sun that bombarded intense level of deadly radiation over the closest three worlds were of no value to the Imperium. Not only were the first three rocky barren worlds so saturated by the radiation, it would easily melt down a tank if it could ever land.

The two outer worlds were little better in condition, but that was not much. The fifth planet was a gas giant of helium and its six moons were mostly ice. It was the fourth planet that my Satan Brood settled. The highly active volcanic planet was very much like Char back in the Starcraft Universe, though there were much coarser terrain across the seas and rivers and lakes of lava. Opening a wormhole near the edge of the solar system, the massive Satan Brood that drew a rather significant number of my creatures from the twelve home worlds of the Swarm's home region. I needed to give Satan Brood as much head start as I could, given the magnitude of tasks set before it.

As my mind washed over its creatures busy setting up their new home, the commanders of the Satan Brood felt my presence and gathered at the first Hive that had morphed. Led by the Hierarch Lucifer, there were other commanding creatures, each of them being horrific monstrosities though I had given them humanoid bodies to use if such needs arose. At that moment, however, they all received me in their natural forms of claws, fangs, chitin and carapace.

"Overmind... Welcome to your newest colony," growled Lucifer as he lowered his vaguely human-like head in reverence.

Lucifer was a massive creature, and indeed he was a powerful being among my servants. Apart from the original four human commanders such as Alena, and the Blood Master the Lord of Spylings, Lucifer ranked just below them in power. As for size, he was nearly eight meters in height and as wide and elongated as a Baneblade. He walked on his six massive legs where the two hind legs ended in thick wide hoofs, the four front legs ending like giant versions of Queen's legs. This allowed Lucifer to turn around or strafe easily without losing moving speed.

Two pairs of boney wings that ended in shorter versions of Kaiser Blades were but his basic melee weapons, and he was armed with a pair of humanoid arms of thick muscles that glowing claws as long as a length of a human forearm. The six sentient tentacle symbiotes with Psi Blade teeths and acid spits added to the danger paused by this monster that was compounded by the 'Crown of Horns', a network of twelve crystalline horns that channels Lucifer's massive psionic might.

He was truly an imposing creature who could take down whole armies by himself. Yet, he was not alone. Behind him stood four Patriarchs and two Matriarchs, all horrid in form.

-_**Lucifer... your realm remains small. A single world may not prove strong enough.**_-

"We shall rectify that matter shortly, Overmind."

-_**I assume that you would send them across this empty region of space?**_-

My psionic avatar gestured at the lesser commanders.

"Yes, Overmind. They shall be my walls and towers against the Great Devourer," answered the Hierarch.

-_**Hmmm... Then who among them shall be the first to encounter our greatest threat as their endless number move toward Ultramar?**_-

One of the Patriarchs came forward.

"I will," answered the Patriarch.

-_**Patriarch Ba'al... Baal-zebub, the Lord of Flies. Indeed, your Brood Lords shall play well against the numberless tides of the other swarm.**_-

My gaze scanned the Patriarch. He was big, as big as a fully grown Ultralisk, and he was cast in that form. In fact, he looked like an Ultralisk whose top half was replaced by three Swarm Hosts, each with a face of the Hydralisk. His four arms, two clad in Kaiser Blades and the other two ending in whip-like Thorn-Tentacles sizzling in psionic energy, were as dangerous as the scores of creatures he could spawn.

-_**What of the Ultramarines, and do not forget other Space Marine Chapters nearby. I shall not brook their interference. The Great Devourer must cripple Ultramar before we can strike.**_-

"I shall fortify our position against the Omega Marines whose home lies just beyond these stars," replied a Matriarch.

Asmodeus, the Matriarch specializing in toxic warfare and a mothering creature to hordes of Infesters and Defilers, and she bowed her worm-like body before my avatar. She was a worm, but tough and large. She looked like a millipede of steely carapace whose softer inner lining seemed to be made up of dozens of Infesters, each with their eye-less heads poking to the sides while her head that of a massive Corruptor with five massive eyes and scores of long quivering tentacles flowing down her mouth. Though she looked weak and soft, she was neither. Her regenerative powers were significant, and she could surround herself with intense poisonous gas that would heal her while breaking down her enemies. Besides, her real body that lay below the ground was capable of shooting Lurker's Subterrainean Spines amplified in size and multiplied by a factor of six.

-_**Do you really think you could take on a whole Space Marine Chapter?**_-

"They will all die and be dissolved within our bellies."

I mused. There were many tasks, and time was always a factor.

-_**How about the Occulus station? I want that ancient creature. Who will claim it for me?**_-

Lucifer turned to a creature covered in glittering pieces of metallic carapace.

-_**Ah... Mammon.**_-

"Hsss... It shall be yours... Overmind."

Patriarch Mammon was a creature of intense martial discipline but not lacking in psionic abilities either. It was a simple creature to design. I simply clad a Brutalisk in thick muscles and covered it all over with psionically-reactive carapace in scale armor. These highly metallic carapace pieces covering the creature as if it was a fish or a reptile were powerful weapons also. Using his strong psionic powers, he could fling these pieces at the enemy while charging the pieces with deadly Warp Blade of the Dark Templars, giving them strong anti-armor capacity. Replacing Brutalisk claws with Kaiser Blade and adding six Thorn-Whip Tentacles on his back was also a boost in his offensive capacity.

I resumed my gaze back upon Lucifer. These 'special' commanding creatures were far beyond the average Hierarchs, Patriarchs and Matriarchs. Others such as Zasz or Lamias looked almost same with very minor changes depending on which human commander had influenced them in their formative periods. Zasz looked like any other Hierarch based on Starcraft 2 Queen evolution but with the primary claws using Kaiser Blades and having thicker carapace while sacrificing speed. Lamias looked almost same except for the atrophied clawed legs replaced by Hydralisk-like lower body, while having stronger psionic powers in return.

-_**Do your missions well, and you shall see stars beyond this forsaken region of the galaxy.**_-

Even as my avatar slowly dissipated, Lucifer bowed again.

"We shall, Overmind. We shall never fail you."

Leaving them to their devices, my gaze roamed across the galaxy once more.

* * *

><p><strong>Ultima Segmentum<strong>

**Civilized World - Valors End**

Planet Valors End was remarkably similar to the Holy Terra in several ways. Firstly, it was the third planet orbiting a yellow sun that emitted just enough sunlight to be safe for humans, and had almost same orbital time frames as Terra. Secondly, it was only little bigger than Terra and its gravity was almost same as Terra. Thirdly, it had a single moon, though not as barren and rocky as Luna, it served as a fortress and naval base for its small defensive navy. Finally, it had very similar ratio of land to sea compared to Holy Terra's ancient times.

Oxygen rich air and fertile land made the planet an excellent choice for humans to colonize the planet, and they would certainly have done so during the early days of human expansion into the stars, but it was not to be. The only reason that this world had been colonized by mankind mere ten thousand years ago was because nobody had ventured that far out. Discovered during the later stages of the Great Crusade, the planet was one of those found, conquered and colonized by the Ultramarine Legion under the command of their Primarch Roboute Guilliman.

Perhaps it was an oversight, or perhaps it was because of the terrible Horus Heresy that began near the time of its colonization, but Valors End would not see the legendary Guilliman in his empire-building effort. The Ultramarines had set up a palpable defense system and laid down a groundwork for a long-lasting government that ran like well-oiled machine. The technology of the time allowed the Legion and the Mechanicus to establish the fifteen laser cannons on the surface of its moon around the already fortified naval fortress covered in many long-range weapons and missile launchers. Each of the original cities also maintained powerful walls reaching into the sky and dotted with numerous weapons and ramparts. The handful Manufactorums established during that ancient times allowed the united planetary government to create and maintain relatively well-armed military. However, what it lacked was a trade network to the rest of the Imperium.

Of course, amid the chaos of the Horus Heresy and other terrible events that followed since, the rest of the Imperium promptly forgot the planet, and only paid it most glancing attention during the times when they took the tithes. It's recent rediscovery and mediocre recognition happened a few thousand years ago when the Adeptus Mechanicus built the research station on planet Tyran, it proved much of a boon to the economy and moral of Valors End as manpower and resources were needed to build the mighty research station on Tyran were purchased from nearby worlds, including this sad little planet. The payment of twelve Defense Monitors was welcomed by the planet's people as a sign that the Imperium still cared for them.

Little did they know, that when the Tyranids consumed Tyran in the original Warhammer 40K history, this unremarkable world would be consumed by a small splinter fleet of the Behemoth. A smaller Hive Ship and its several hundred million passengers would quickly overcome the planet's lackluster defenses and devour the planet, only to rejoin the rest of the swarm in attacking Thandros System, to which Valors End was a neighbor.

Things had changed, however, when the Zerg came into existence in this universe. Now, the planet and its inhabitants would face a different Swarm coming to devour them.

Patriarch Ba'al descended upon the little planet.

* * *

><p>The ancient defensive network ran by the equally ancient Cogitators sang their wrathful chorus against the invaders. The powerful laser cannons that looked into the darkened sky shot forth their bright red beams, but there were simply too many things between the planet and the moon. Though much smaller than those terrifyingly massive laser cannons built on Tyran, these laser cannons were no less dangerous to invading ships. Concentrated, these laser cannons could take out a Defense Monitor with a single coordinated shot. Yet, they were no match for the strength and the numbers of their latest invaders. Scores of Leviathans moved down toward the planet while a dozen Leviathans made for the moon and its Naval Fortress.<p>

The handful of Techpriests commanded by Magos Fabrahim who had long resided within the darkened halls of this decrepit fortress whipped their thousand-strong Servitor army to man various turrets and weapon systems, while the members of the Skitarii guard prepared for battle. The three full companies of the planet's most elite PDF soldiers joined the Adeptus Mechanicus in their defenses. Though well-armed compared to the rest of the PDF forces, these elites were still only armed with a single lasgun with two spare batteries, a single stub gun and two magazines, and protected by a very thin version of Imperial Guard Flak Armor. The sergeants would be armed with shotguns or a chainsword, while some members carried heavy stubber as the standard heavy weapon.

The initial and critical defense of the fortress began at the long-abandoned township at the entrance of the fortress. The town's population had long been gone, and only desiccated and broken structures remained in their place like a giant haunt. Still, it proved to be a boon to the defenders. They decided to block the main road and use the two larger buildings at the bottom of the ramp reaching up to the fortress itself. The town was a neatly designed place, but it was a failed city design to have such straightforward roads and access, as evidenced by the Cadians' history. Though cracked in places and potholes were frequent, the road remained visible and reached straight out, allowing the defender's single Gryphonne IV pattern Chimera mounted with an autocannon to fire right into the oncoming enemies.

Barbed wires, tank traps, sandbags and occasional landmines were placed to block the side streets, and the defenders made ready. The desperate and screaming vox communications from the few walled towns around the populated part of the moon were quickly silenced as the Zerg forces landed. Evading the laser cannons' reach and arc, the Leviathans landed the troops just beyond the range of the cannons, giving a little time for the defenders to prepare. What was unfortunate for the defenders was that they were no match for the Zerg in any case. Not even a fully armed and prepared Imperial Guard regiment could have stopped the thousands of Zerg rushing at them, much less the Satan Brood and its highly evolved creatures.

The first to appear on the outskirt of the abandoned town was a scout force of Zerg. Led by an Overseer on low-altitude, direct-command mode, the modest Zerg forces gathered around the other end of the town. Apart from the low-flying Overseer and the lone Infester, a hundred Zerglings divided into five groups supported by two squads of ten Roaches and a single squad of ten Hydralisks made up the initial Zerg force as they detected the defenders on the other side of the town.

On the other hand, the defenders were quite numerous in number. One full company of the PDF force had set up shop while supported by the various Servitors and led by an Enginseer. Of the three hundred PDF elites divided into fifteen-men squads, five squads fielded themselves on the roofs of the buildings surrounding the main road seeking only to deal attrition damage before the Zerg could reach the main defenses. Five squads of PDF forces armed with the las-carbines placed themselves in the ruins to the north of the town as a flanking maneuver, while the remaining ten squads of PDF forces awaited their enemies.

The Overseer sensed the enemy, and while the thoughts and attention of the Patriarch and almost all of the Hiveseers was upon the planet itself, the Overseer was forced to command this scout force all alone. It's thought-process was simple. It needed to kill as many as it could before the main Zerg forces arrived. The defenders, however, needed to hold on as long as they could so that the Techpriests could conjure up some more support and heavier firepower. Another problem that both side had was the powerful area-wide refractor field that activated as soon as the Zerg scout force entered its parameters. Activated through four emitters, the shield surrounding the town was impregnable from the outside, as the emitters were connected to the primary power generator of the Naval Fortress.

While the Zerg could not destroy the emitters themselves, as these relics of the Mechanicus were made of advanced alloys covered and protected by adamantium armor plating formed with sophisticated carbon nano-weave layered between adamantium alloy and carbon-gold alloy. Wired to several capacitors, these armor plating could absorb all manner of energy, be they kinetic energy of something hitting them or thermal energy in forms of flamer and melta weapons. Not even the vaunted Power Weapons could cut through these very expensive and rare plating without considerable drain in their energy. However, guarding these emitters was a priority for the defenders and they had placed themselves in the defense of these towers, trapping the Zerg scout force with them inside.

The initiative was taken by the defenders who had seen the enemy coming and activated the prepared traps. A squad of Zerglings exploded as they trampled through a small minefield only to find a squad of PDF soldiers with lascarbines firing at the survivors from the abandoned two-story building through open windows and balconies. As they were moving through the narrower street to flank the defenders, the Zergling squad was unable to react fast enough. Unfortunately, the defenders were not fighting Zerglings from some little lost colony. These were Zerglings of the Satan Brood, and they had been modified and bred for one purpose: to win against the Tyranids.

Around this period, the main Zerg Swarm utilized a new base strain of Zerglings. Although the strains for the very original version and the previous version were kept safe on New Char, the Swarm now bred Zerglings using the Monozygot Strain. The Monozygot Strain allows for the embryo to divide early within the egg, leaving four Zerglings fully formed. The disadvantage of this strain as that the gestation period was little longer than the previous strain, and had to be adjusted without a Queen's Somatroponic Mucus that would allow the egg to develop roughly at the same pace as the previous strain of Zerglings. The previous stain, the Simplistic Mitosis Strain, which could birth between four to eight Zerglings but with some minor percentage in failure to produce a proper Zergling.

The Zerglings of Satan Brood was fed through a new strain developed just for the Brood. The Dizygotic Mitosis Strain was a little more costly to morph, but it would produce eight perfectly formed Zerglings. While this would be an overkill for other Broods who could ill-afford the immense amount of control and resources needed to gestate all Zerglings this way, it was the only choice for a Brood designed to combat the Tyranids. Using the massive crowd of Queens available within the Brood, the Satan Brood could breed billions upon billions of Zerglings within a surprisingly short amount of time. Indeed, even as the planet was bombarded below, new Hive Clusters were already being set up to produce more Zerg, including these Zerglings.

In conclusion, the devastating minefield and a hailstorm of lascarbine-fire did not wipe out these Zerglings. They all had Metabolic Boost and Hoofed Hindleg mutations, allowing the Zerglings to use both the front legs and upper claws in combat while keeping decent speed. With these mutations, Zerglings had their center of gravity moved rearward, making it more difficult to make sharp turns, but having four front claws also allowed them to scale walls that they could sink their claws in. Of the twenty Zerglings in that group, seven died from the mines, their lower halves lost in explosions while four were killed by the defenders' lascarbines. That still left nine very dangerous creatures climbing the soft brick-and-mortar walls of the abandoned residential house.

Lascarbines fired again and again, but the defenders could only manage to fell another two, allowing the remaining seven Zerglings to hack into their ranks with the two pairs of nasty claws. Their crude Flak Armor could not stand against the razor-sharp edge of the powerful bone claws of the Zerglings even without the Psi Claw mutation. Limbs and heads fell to grounds as the seven Zerglings hacked apart a full squad of fifteen PDF soldiers within few minutes, emerging from the building covered in human blood.

At the same time, another group of humans found themselves faced against the Zerg. A squad of Zerglings and one of the ten-Roach squads charged right into the defenders when they came out of a narrow street only to find themselves in another large dirt-road street and getting fired at. The lone Multi-laser Turret turned its two weapons and fired upon the Zerglings that came out first. The defenders fired their own weapons too. A squad of soldiers fired their lasguns while the two Heavy Stubbers gunners and their supporting soldiers fired their own weapons. Tungsten-coated steel bullets fired at the Roaches but they did only minor damage as the thick metallic carapace that covered the Zerg creature had been too tough for the bullets to penetrate.

The Adaptive Carapace mutation had allowed Roaches of this squad to withstand the attacks to a degree. The Multi-laser took quite a heavy toll while the Heavy Stubber made very little dent. Ignoring the relatively ineffectual attacks of the defenders, the Roach squad moved in. Acid exploded from the sacs within their spitting mechanism and six soldiers were instantly covered in acid and dissolved down into a puddle. One by one, Roaches died under the heavy fire, but the defending soldiers were died in their twos and threes. The lasgun-armed squad quickly fell to the acids, and the remaining ten men attached to the Heavy Stubber gunners were cut down by the Roaches who came close enough to melee range. Despite the Multi-laser taking out two Roaches, it was crunched up by the six remaining Roaches.

The remaining squad of Roaches and the squad of Hydralisks had located one of the four energy field emitters, and this discovery made the Overseer to drive the squads to take the emitter so that the Swarm could study such device and manipulate it. Defenders were well entrenched, however, and a lone Autocannon and a Heavy Bolter rained down heavy fire as the Roaches charged forward, blocking the attacks. Hydralisks quickly followed, firing their spines at the soldiers who hid behind the low concrete walls about a meter high. Powerful driven spines pierced the outer layer of the concrete, but they soon lost their kinetic energy and were stuck in them about half way through the thickness of the walls, and the soldiers returned fire with their lasguns and lascarbines. Hydralisks were tough though not as to the extent of the armored Roaches, and the beams of laser that struck their carapace would leave nothing but sizzling burn marks. Still, there were weaknesses such as the soft inner linings below their jaw to the base of their neck. A hunched form of a Hyralisk would protect such location, but when they reared up to fire their spines, such places were exposed and were vulnerable.

One by one, Hydralisks fell from the terrible fires of the Autocannon and the Heavy Bolter, but the Roaches finally reached the soldiers hiding behind their concrete fence. Acid streams were poured over the barricade, and dozens of soldiers fell despite their bravery. A sergeant and a half-dozen men armed with lascarbines leaped out from behind the barricade near the place that the barricade had met the wall of a ruin, and charged at the Roaches from the flank. The revving sound of the Chainword screeched through the air and struck a Roach in the face, grinding the Zerg creature's face to death. Another Roach turned and swung its axe-like scythe only to be blocked by a soldier who was struck in the chest but survived with a minor cut. Still bleeding, that brave soldier fired his lascarbine into the Roach's face on full, emptying his magazine. It managed to kill the Roach. Yet, his fellow squadmates did not fare so well. They managed to kill another Roach, but they were soon taken out by the surviving Hydralisks and other Roaches.

Still, it gave the defenders time to reload their heavy weapons. A Roach was flipped over and shattered by the point-blank shot of the Autocannon that blasted the Zerg creature into a bloody pulp. The Heavy Bolter also made a dent as their powerful explosive rounds raked across the Roaches and Hydralisks and tore them asunder. Even with their numbers depleting fast, Zerg creatures did not hesitate for a moment. With their instincts suppressed by the presence of the Overseer, the Zerg did not even flinch as their fellow creatures were torn through by explosives. Spines continued to wreak havoc upon the defenders and when the two soldiers manning the Heavy Bolter fell, soldiers began to lose hope. The lone sergeant fell next as he braved through another slaying of a Roach, only to find himself bathed in the acid of the Roach he had just driven his Chainsword through.

The gurgling screams of the melting sergeant finally broke the will of the soldiers. The Autocannon gunners were first to run, and the cannon was silenced when they stood up and turned their backs. Then other defending soldiers began to abandon the defense. They did not get very far though. Even as they ran, they were faced with a squad of Zerglings. Twenty Zerglings with Hoofed Hindleg mutation had meant four attack claws on each of the twenty Zerglings that formed this squad, and that was a hell for the thirty or so soldiers that finally abandoned the field emitter. Their screams were mixed with the sounds of slashing and spilling of blood, and soon were silenced. The remaining three Hydralisks stood guard while the two Roaches joined the Zergling squad and moved on to another target, and the Hydralisks at the emitter was soon joined by the Infester. Having greater intelligence than a Hydralisk and capable of manipulating non-Zerg technology through their mouth-tentacles, the Infester carefully touched and wrapped its tentacles around the control box of the field emitter.

The defenders were getting desperate, and they quickly withdrew to the remaining three emitters and the main defense that guarded the entrance to the fortified staircase that led to the Naval Fortress, whose mighty guns and laser cannons still filled the skies with Mutalisks corpses. Another emitter was quickly overwhelmed by two full squads of Zerglings who shredded the defenders and their Lascannon team. Yet, with the Infester dealing with the first emitter, the Overseer was forced to come to the ground to deal with the second emitter. Perhaps it should not have done so. As they were retreating, one of the defending squads saw the bulbous flying creature slowly descending. Led by one of their rare sergeants, and having formed of elite units amongst their pitiful kind, this squad was armed with two heavy weapons. A Plasma Gun and a shoulder-mounted missile launcher were their weapon to be used against light vehicles and heavy infantry, though they were faced with alien creatures that refused such classification. Still, at the command of their veteran sergeant, the two-men team loaded up their only Krak Missile while the Plasma Gun charged up its deadly firing cycle.

Even as the Overseer came closer, the Plasma Gun fired first. It was a direct hit, and it blew off left half of the Overseer's face. Its slug-like face exploded then cauterized the instant that the plasma hit it. It stumbled in the air and all of its eyes upon the fleshy round body trained upon the attacker, only to be struck by the Krak Missile that also hit the mark. As soon as the front part of the missile penetrated a little layer of the Overseer's skin, it exploded, sending a large number of smoldering metal shrapnel right into the belly of the beast. A large hole appeared on the other side, making the Overseer hollow. The creature seemed to be surprised for a moment at the attack before exploding in a shower of self-destructive implosion, as hardwired into its genetic structure. Its flesh instantly dissolved into basic amino acid and all of is DNA was lost and only thing that remained was the seething pool of blood that began to change color and the tiny shards of Khaydarin Crystal that failed to dissolve when they were ejected from the body.

In the moment that the Zerg had captured two field emitters, they were dealt a critical blow. Without the Overseer suppressing their basic instinct, the Zerg within the energy field went berserk. Zerglings in full squads fared quite well as they had a little of Ork DNA which had allowed a communal intelligence to form in large enough numbers. Called the 'Horde Instinct', a large group of Zerglings would be far more intelligent than individual Zergling even without a leader creature to relay control over them. The three Hydralisks around the Infester also survive the backlash of the Overseer's demise as the Infester, while technically not a leader creature, still managed to exert some control over such small number of creatures.

* * *

><p>The death of an Overseer was felt by the lone Hiveseer that oversaw the conquest and the settlement of the moon. The creature who commanded only a little military force in favor of an entire swarm of Drones quickly diverted two remaining Overseers under its control toward the entrance of the Naval Fortress, accompanying them with most of its military prowess. Three hundred Zerglings, fifty Roaches, thirty Hydralisks and five Infesters were dispatched along with twenty Raptors led by Raptor Alphas, and an Ultralisk.<p>

The Hiveseer also commandeered two Krakenlings and placed them over the dome of refractor field. Using thousands of Mutalisks and Corruptors, the Hiveseer distracted the Naval Fortress that brooked no breaching of its Void Shield. Then powerful bombardment of Crystalline Disruptor that shattered against the field of unbreakable energy shield, but the result was not the direct destruction of the emitters or the abandoned town. What it did was to weaken the surrounding soil and the thick concrete groundwork that held up the abandoned town. After a while, the soil loosened and cracks appeared within the meter-thick concrete bedrock that had prevented the Zerg from breaching the dome from beneath. Then from the edge of the town appeared a Nydus Worm that began to spew out the Zerg army inside the dome.

The dome and its defenders fell within half hour, and the Zerg Swarm began to amass near the fortified staircase blocked by the massive plasteel gates coated in adamantium and locked by enormous current of electricity that would fry anything that touched it. The defenders of that gate had fought to their bitter end, killing scores of Zerg creatures before being overwhelmed. A full squad of hardened PDF veterans charged through ranks of Zerglings with their Chainswords, while two Priests of the Ecclesiarchy tore apart several Hydralisks with their massive Eviscerators grinding their ways through the carapace and flesh. Flamers were brought to bear, including a large twin-linked Heavy Flamer set atop a low concrete mound surrounded by the elite units of the PDF armed with human-size bolters and Heavy Stubber defended the gate to the last. The twin-linked Heavy Flamer turned almost three squads of Zerglings into ashes but the Infester used their Neural Parasite, taking control of the gunner of the weapon, who then proceeded to rain down the intense flame upon his fellows, ending the siege in a heartbeat. Of course, the poor man was devoured by the Infester after that.

Even as the Patriarch Ba'al turned the planet below into a new Zerg world in a surprisingly quick pace, the forces of his Hiveseers began to swarm the moon above, also seeking to convert the mineral-rich crust of the moon into their new breeding ground. There they found a resistance still holding strong. The Naval Fortress still held its ground, relying on its Void Shield and its massive weapons. It could hold on because the Zerg paid it little heed compared to a stronger enemies on the planet below. Hundreds of thousands of PDF soldiers had fought the Zerg in a bitter but quick war that saw the actions of ancient defense network of mighty cannons, laser turrets and bastions of intricate targeting sensor systems. None could stand against the Swarm in any measurable sense, but this fortress held, for the moment. As several Hiveseers gathered together in a council of war, their combined intelligence and control began to embolden and strengthen the element of Zerg on the moon. Hive Clusters propped up upon the surface of the planet, and as the siege reached into its second week, one third of the planet and half of the moon were covered in thick layers of Creep dotted with Zerg Hive Clusters everywhere.

Only the fortress held, but the Zerg found it amusing to see the humans desperately holding on. Despair so thick within that the Hiveseers could be taste the fear of the humans. Still, they began to bombard the Void Shield with the newly arrived Banelords landing each minute through the transport Overlords then ferried through the Nydus Network. Hundreds of Banelings impacted against the shield each second, and though the power generator feeding the shield was strong, the impact feedback caused by the psionic casing surrounding the Baneling munitions of the Zerg artillery took their toll. The presence of powerful Zerg fleet element did not improve the humans' chances. A Zerg Hive Ship had been tasked for the siege, and it it fired its Baneling Cannons, and the Ultralisk-sized Banelings filled with immense psionic energy crashed into the shield, and the shield began to buckle. The laser cannons and flak turrets were glowing hot as thousands of Mutalisks, Gattlisks, Corruptors, Guardians and Devourers swarmed over the fortress. They distracted the humans from the four slowly descending Raidens who soon spread their wings and extended their enormous electromagnetic field, crackling through the Void Shield that began to flicker more frequent.

The Zerg was almost done toying with the Imperials, and they went for the jugular. The electromagnetic field of Raidens finally crippled the quadruply redundant Void Shield generator and the well-protected power generator. Without the unlimited amount of power, the gates were no longer protected by electric currents. Without that frying power of electricity, the gate buckled easily. Thousands of Zerg creatures, mostly Banelings and Zerglings sped up the staircase, followed by Hydralisks and Roaches. The defenders mounted desperate last stand, only to be overwhelmed within minutes. The last few who stood against the Zerg were the members of the Mechanicus. The Magos Technicus Fabrahim and his band of a dozen Enginseers mustered several dozen Gun Servitors, a handful of Praetorians and several squads of PDFs granted access to the holy armory of the Mechanicus.

Actually, they did quite a damage. When every member of their last PDF soldiers were armed with bolters and Plasma Guns, flamers and Meltaguns, it was not that easy for the Zerglings to rush them. The power of the Gun Servitors, each armed with a Heavy Bolter or a Plasma Cannon also did not help the Zerg. Still, the last of the defenders were shredded and sundered by the Zerg within a matter of minutes as they were literally overrun by the sheer number of Zergs. The Magos put up a good fight, killing a dozen Hydralisks with his four long and advanced Mechadendrites that were fitted with Power Swords and his own hands worked the Power Axe well. Still, he was caught in the path of an Ultralisk which crushed through the last three Gun Servitors and stomped the Magos to his death.

* * *

><p><strong>Ultima Segmentum<strong>

**Imperial World – Veridian III**

This feral world should have suffered the fate of all those swallowed up by the Tyranid Swarm, particularly when it got in the way of the Hive Fleet Kraken few hundred years from this moment. The history had turned and twisted and vomited out a new foe for this world. The Zerg had come.

The task given to the Matriarch Asmodeus was a difficult one. She had to hold back at least two Space Marine Chapters, and that did not even including the famous Ultramarines. In this region she was tasked to strike beheld two nearby Chapters: the Omega Marines and the Iron Lords. These two Chapters were strong in history and in force. She could not simply destroy them, because they had their own values in the coming wars against the Tyranids Swarm. Still, she was given leave to obliterate the two Chapters if the situation required her to do so.

In thinking to achieve her goal perfectly, she sought a way to distract the attention of these Chapters in a way that did not force a direct confrontation with them. Perhaps she should have been more thoughtful and more careful. Ignoring the fact that they did not come in aid of the Ultramarines during the first Tyrannic War was lost on her. She would regret her decision to invade Veridian so early, though her secondary task was indeed to set up a staging ground against the Hive Fleet Kraken. She was foolish indeed, despite her power.

When her Brood Fleet descended upon the feral world of Veridian, she did not expect much resistance. She was wrong. As feral as the inhabitants were, they were living on a lush world of jungle, forests and rich plains. There were almost a billion humans living across the large planet. They fought daily with the horrid insectoid predators that ruled the planet's oxygen-rich surface. Humans lived in the stone-fortress cities carved deep into the massive rock formations scattered across the planet, and they thrived. Humans fared quite well in oxygen-rich environment, though not as well as the insects. When their ancestors had first colonized the planet so many millennia ago, they had accidentally brought several insects from their cargo of Earth-bio matters such as seeds and animals. The result had been the roaming herds of wild cattle that had evolved into dangerous wild beasts and many giant insects that now reached the top of the food chain. Humans on this world were stronger too, thanks to the oxygen-rich atmosphere, but they had lost much of their technology, and now they lived in such fortress cities built into rocks.

Their conquest by the Ultramarine Legion had left a legacy and an influx of new colonists, who adapted well. Now, the humans could contend with the wild and dangerous beasts of this world using their lasguns and diamantine-coated blades. Diamantine, though rare, was found in the deep mines of this world, and thus required some supervision as to the mining and delivery of such precious mineral. A massive floating fortress-city built during the early days of the Imperium by the Mechanicus with the technology now long forgotten continued to orbit the planet. The Planetary Governor ruled from there, with his retinue of advisers and a full regiment of Imperial Guard. Traditionally, the Governor and his retinue Imperial Guard Regiment were on a rotation, every five centuries, lest the Regiment gets too lazy and the Governor too comfortable.

The stern demeanor of the Iron Lords Chapter in the vicinity had assured the compliance of the Governor, and despite being feral, the planet was quite well-managed. Asmodeus was not aware of this when she invaded. She had bad relationship with the intelligence services of Blood Master and his network of Spylings. This had led to her shunning the use of Spylings, and perhaps it was a flaw from the humans brains that fused with her Zerg brain to complete her morph, but it proved critical in her decision.

The moment that Drop Sacs rained down, the Governor immediately dispatched his Primaris Psyker and his cadre to send a distress call to the nearby Imperial forces. Governor Duane Cartwright was relatively young man in his forties, and he maintained the planet well. The message got through before the Silence could fall upon the system, and as he reached out for help, he prepared defenses. Hoping that the horrid insects and stampeding wild cattle would delay his new xeno foes, he rallied each fortress-city and prepared his Regiment of Imperial Guard for war.

The primary target of Asmodeus was a good landing spot for her new Hive Cluster, and she was too arrogant. She had heard of how quickly Ba'al had conquered his given planet, and she sought to achieve the same result without the same level of understanding of her target. Little did she know at the start that the planet was dotted with heavily automated sensor system networked around the planet to give an instantaneous information of the dangerous wildlife that infested the planet. Each sensor array was guarded by a small group of automated defenses and protected by a small Void Shield generator to defend the area. Built atop a thick ferrocrete mount that overlooked the surroundings, each sensor array could pour significant firepower to an enemy. Indeed, twelve Multi-laser Sentry Guns, six Tarantula Sentry Guns with Heavy Bolters, four Tarantula with Lascannons and a Heavy Turret mounted with a Battle Cannon could obliterate a small army, particularly if protected by the powerful Void Shield.

From the scores of sensor arrays confirming the location of his enemy's main staging ground, the Goveror Cartwright sent the armored Second Company of his Huterian 122nd Mechanized Infantry Regiment. The Huterian 122nd came from a Hive World called Huteria whose moon was a Forge World that produced a large variety of Imperial Guard vehicles including Leman Russ Conquerors and Macharius Super Heavy Tank. Being from a rich world whose culture had become an oppressively-regimented militaristic society that valued lives of its people as nothing more than a crop to be harvested and refined into perfect soldiers, these warriors were battle-hardened, stone-faced killers. The Huterians knew no music but the sounds of their marching bands, they knew no art but those glorified the war and bloody battles, and they knew no understanding of joy but to obey and to kill the enemies of mankind. They were well-armed and fed and trained. Each standard squad were given at least four support weapons as well as chainswords and bolt pistol for their sergeant and corporal.

The Huterian 122nd Mechanized Infantry Regiment had recently returned from a war against the Orks and the interfering Alpha Legion Chaos Marines, and they were given a reprieve from war for a little, given their excellent victory over the two hated enemies of mankind. Since the Huterians brooked no outsider reinforcements into any Huterian Regiment no matter how depleted their manpower maybe, the Huterian 122nd was given an influx of new recruits from their homeworld and a little time to train them. Veridian was one of their better training worlds. In fact, the planetary government of Huteria has sign a contract with Veridian governance to supply the soldiers of the defending regiment rotation so that their armored or mechanized infantry regiments could be trained on the wide fields of Veridian against the dangerous insect creatures, some of which spit acid or fire and withstand cannon shells.

The Second Company, led by Major Nikoli Sokol and his Company Commissar Anton Utkin, drove his tank columns toward the landing spot of Asmodeus' Zerg forces. Six Hatcheries were still in the early stages of morphing when the fifteen Leman Russ Conquerors appeared followed by the Macharius Tank 'Howling Horror' and twenty Chimeras full of Guardsmen. Supported by a dozen Hydra Flak Tanks and six Hellhounds, and protected by the cover fire of six Basilisks and three Manticores, the Second Company made short work of Asmodeus' forces, even killing the three Hiveseers nearby with the help of their six Vulture Gunships and a squad of Lightning fighter crafts.

Humiliated, Asmodeus sought to rectify this defeat by bringing down a Leviathan into the atmosphere, though most of her fleet still resided around a sandy desert world of Veridian system's second planet, attempting to colonize the desert world with frustrating setbacks as the thin atmosphere of the second planet was unable to withstand the sun's radiation and powerful radiation sandstorms obliterated any attempt at colonizing the planet. What she found about the defense of this feral world's orbital defense was that it was protected by a polar orbital fortress station, mostly automated but manned by a small Mechanicus team and Imperial Navy personnel. As soon as the lone Leviathan approached the planet, the orbital station unleashed its deadly cargo. While having no Defense Monitors, they had fighter squadrons instead. A dozen Starhawks and four squadrons of three Fury Interceptors attacked the Leviathan, whose bodyguard of several hundred Mutalisks, Gattlisks, Scourges, Corruptors and Devourers greeted them.

The battle above was furious. Yet, the Imperials somehow got through the blockade of lesser Zerg fliers after a wing of Faustus Interceptors blasted Corruptors and Devourers with their deadly plasma weapons. Powerful Plasma Bombs loaded on to the Starhawks rocked the face of the Leviathan, blasting apart chunks of its facial protection. Carapaces as thick as houses were torn and burned out from their places and left raw flesh that made the giant creature thrash with pain. Then having lost more than half of their number, the Imperial fighters retreated. Even as the Mutalisks and other lesser creatures chased the Imperial fighters, the orbital station unleashed its salvo of missiles and torpedoes. Scores of torpedoes exploded superheated plasma across the Leviathan's flesh, often burning through the carapace and other open wounds. Too wounded, the creature fell into the atmosphere, dropping as many Drop Sacs as it could in its death tantrum.

* * *

><p>Thousands of Zerg landed all across the planet's surface, scattered in their drops. The Governor was quick to intercept them. He divided the First Company in three, placing one Macharius Tank in each of the three groups and sending them into combat to deal with five Zerg landings in close to each other, allowing the First Company to regroup after clearing out the landings. The Second Company was also divided into three and had them commit to a three-pronged attack against a larger targets, leaving the clean up to the Fifth Company and its Chimera-riding infantry. The Fourth Company and its Hellhound squadrons were dispatched through the jungles and the massive cedar forest to clear out the Zerg that landed in them, while the Third Company committed its Hydra Flak Tanks and Basilisks to support other companies. The Sixth and Seventh Companies were dispatched to fortress cities with nearby Zerg landings, fending off the frenzied attacks by the aliens.<p>

Asmodeus fumed. She dispatched five remaining Leviathans and several attack vessels toward the planet while the rest of her real Brood Fleet to transit to the solar system. As the frequent solar flares continued to disrupt her command of the vanguard fleet through the distance of the vast space, she decided to commit her full force. From the Crucible, her Brood Fleet departed as the Hierarch Lucifer gazed disapprovingly at her hasty departure. She had stuck around at the Crucible unlike her brothers and sisters. Patriarchs Ba'al and Mammon, Belphegor and the Matriarch Moloch, and the Lucifer's second-in-command Patriarch Belial had all left for their assigned planets and solar systems. Asmodeus was arrogant to the extreme, and Lucifer could already feel the meaningless deaths at her failures.

As the Silence cast by the commanders of the Zerg Swarm grew stronger, the impact of that oppression could be felt in the Warp. This caused Asmodeus a problem that she did not expect. Unlike her brothers and sisters who had already arrived at their destination and cast their own fields of massive suppression among the currents of the Warp, she was now interrupted with grave turbulence so rough that her own field of Silence was interrupted too often. Yet, without her oppressive shadow, her main Brood Fleet could not move toward Veridian, as the unreality knocked at the thin veil of reality and threatened to disrupt Zerg's way of FTL. Only the powerful and ancient technological advances of the Protoss could cross such turbulence in the Immaterium, and even they would be forced to rely on a powerful beacon of Khala. Without such beacon, there was no way that Asmodeus could cross that space with the normal FTL method, the same method shared with the Terrans or the Protoss fleet on their 'short jumps'. Wormholes, the primary Zerg FTL method, was beyond her skills and knowledge, and she was forced to resort to slower travels.

Days passed as the advanced vanguard of Asmodeus' section of the Satan Brood continued to fight against the Huterian 122nd Mechanized Infantry Regiment and the aggressive PDF armies of steel-armored riflemen. Each day, thousands of Drop Sacs landed only to be destroyed by the defenders. With the Governor's floating fortress taking more aggressive approach by using its laser cannons and the separately-powered turret of twin-linked Turbo-laser Destructor on its underbelly, the Zerg landing parties saw not much victory. Although some Zergs managed to hide in the deepest jungles and roughest mountains, they amounted to very little threat. Still, each day was a challenge for the defenders. Casualty began to mount slowly, and the orbital fortress station on its northern pole had soon spent all of its fighter compliments, and was resorted to occasional torpedoes and missiles. Still, the defenders exacted grave toll upon their attacks.

Asmodeus was right in some ways that her Zerg would overwhelm the defenders no matter what. The five Leviathans remaining from the vanguard fleet were careful enough not to get shot down by remaining in the southern hemisphere, though the rough seas and lack of any sizable landmass was a headache for the Hiveseers in command. Still, they began to land all over the planet, including the southern islands. Intercontinental missiles would sometimes rain down from the Governor's floating fortress, but there were islands enough to build several Hive Clusters. From there, the Hiveseers began to morph the normally dormant strains of Zerg creatures. They spawned Hydrolisks, aquatic Krakenlisks and modified Zerglings whose hind legs were redesigned with long toes and membrane between the toes to work as flappers. Hundreds of these creatures began to crawl in the violent seas of Veridian, fighting and killing so many of the planet's dangerous aquatic lifeforms.

As the days passed into weeks, the defenders began to show signs of exhaustion. Their munitions began to run low as the planet did not have the means to replace them except for the crude rifle rounds for the locally produced long bolt-action rifles. Since the Zerg Drop Sacs never stopped raining down, the defenders had no option but to blast them. More and more, the defenders began to favor laser-based weapons as they did not require munitions, and recharge for the energy could be fulfilled from the power generators of the floating fortress. Then as the second week faded into another tiresome whack-a-mole, the Imperial reinforcement had arrived.

* * *

><p>The Iron Lords Battlebarge '<em>Steel and Blade<em>', the Lunar-class Cruiser '_Invictus Solaris_', the Dictator-class Cruiser '_Impudis Gladiis_' and their small number of escorts had arrive. The Iron Lords Chapter had committed two full companies to this action against an unknown xeno attackers, while the sector command reinforced Veridian with Huterian 53rd Heavy Infantry Regiment and Haxli 31st Buccaneers Regiment. Drop Pods rained down on the handful of Hive Clusters that managed to survive the landfall on the mainland while Thunderhawks delivered their payloads of bombs upon the Zerg groups as well as their Space Marines. The Haxli 31st Buccaneers landed across the coastal regions of the main continent and set up defenses, for such pitched battle was their specialty, given the six thousand years of being under siege from Orks on their home, the Death World of Haxli. While the Huterian 53rd Heavy Infantry relieved their beleaguered comrades, the Space Marines drove back the Zerg on the mainland.

When the Chapter's Librarians had warned of an oppressing silence in the Warp that neared them with each passing moment, the defenders readied themselves. Each fortress city carved into the bedrocks of the mountains were fortified with the numerous guns and munitions ferried from the ships, while the floating fortress was repaired to its top shape, and several types of weapons long-thought dormant were brought back online with additional power generators. The Imperial fleet had chased the fleeing Zerg fleet and obliterated them, despite losing two escorts to the Raidens and Krakenlisks.

Asmodeus seethed with frustration as she felt her vanguard die. She exited to the real-space full two planetary days later, and she was confronted with a well-armed and defended planet. She vented her rage at the planet. Even her small slice of the Satan Brood was massive. Three Hive Ships, thirty Leviathans, a hundred Mots, thirty Raidens, fifty Krakenlings and ten Krakenlisks approached Veridian clad in a massive cloud of lesser Zerg fliers in their hundreds of thousands. The Imperial fleet collided with the oncoming Zerg fleet, and they fired everything they had. Torpedoes were fired by their hundreds while missiles were fired in their thousands. Scores of fighter squadrons zoomed around the Imperial fleet, fighting off waves of Zerg fliers. Corruptors and Devourers vomited out their deadly and disruptive mucus at the larger ships while the Scourges and Mutalisk strains smashed into the fighters and bombers. Guardians and Brood Lords fought against the escorts and defending weapon turrets of the larger ships, sending waves of acid spores and Broodlings. Servitors armed with guns and weapons poured out from every open hatches and drove off the rain of Broodlings bent on crippling the defensive turrets.

Krakenlisks grabbed on to the escorts and shredded them while blowing them up from inside using their powerful Prismatic Beams, while the escorts fired their cannons, missiles and Lances. Krakenlisks and Krakenlings blew up while the Imperial ships were torn apart piece by piece. Dozens of Mots were turned to cindered as they charged at the large ships. The surviving Mots attached themselves on the ships, and pierced through the thick armored hull and spewed out their deadly cargo. The outer sections of 'Invictus Solaris' were soon flooded with toxic miasma and every all and floor were covered in Creep, and bands of Infesteds roamed its hallways. The naval Armsmen and few of the Haxli Buccaneers took to their stations and fought back the Zerg that began to infest the ship. Lasguns, shotguns, bolt pistols, flamers and plasma guns were brought to bear while the Heavy Bolter teams were dispatched to each section of the breached area to cordon off the attackers. Hundreds of Zerglings, Banelings and thousands of Infesteds flooded the corridors and they were met in kind by the thousands of defenders, including the hundreds of thousands of slave, serfs and indentured servants who were given the most basic arms to defend the ship.

Bio-rifles of the Infesteds spewed out finger-sized spines at incredible velocity and tore apart the weak slaves clad in nothing but the most generic cloth around their private parts while the Guardsmen and Armsmen used the cannon-fodders to buy time and advantageous positions. Lasguns were fired into the faces of Infesteds vague shapes while Zerglings with four attack claws clashed against the Chainsword-wielding Haxli Buccaneers, both in dire struggle for blood. Banelings exploded here and there, and covered men with flesh-eating acid, while the flamers sheathed entire corridors with searing fire. Bones were broken and heads were rollings, while carapace buckled and ichor-like blood were spilled.

Raidens too did their work, sending forth waves of lightning storms or sending forth Warp-rifts. The defenders and attackers alike were suddenly faced with scores of Warp rifts tearing through the reality and spewing out Daemons of Chaos. Nurglings crawled out from the walls, turning the Guardsmen into balls of pus and Zerglings writhing in agony as their blood turned into flesh-eating necrotic liquid. Daemonettes jumped out from middle of a skirmish and sang their beautifully haunting song that dissolved the brains of their listeners before the clawed hands of the Slaanesh's handmaidens shredded them apart. Horrors of Tzeentch came out every place, both within and without the ships, and they threw their malicious fireballs at everyone. Bloodletters poured out in droves, skewering everything in their path with their Hellblades and severing heads.

Imperials fought back too. Dictator-class Cruiser '_Impudis Gladiis_' sent forth so many fighters and bombers that a path was cleared toward a group of four Leviathans, and nuclear missiles slammed into the giant bio-ships. The Leviathans screamed as they exploded, killing the hundreds of millions of Zerg packed into their bellies. The Battlebarge of the Iron Lords had her escort clear a path toward a Hive Ship, and fired its deadly broadside cannons, blowing off chunks of carapace and armor off the massive ships, despite the huge Baneling Cannons slamming their insane living munitions against the Void Shield. Even as the nuclear missiles of the Impudis Gladiis shattered four Leviathans, the Battlebarge launched three Caestus Assault Rams and ten Boarding Torpedoes right into the gaping wound of the Hive Ship following a barrage of missiles and torpedoes. Even as the torpedoes and missiles shattered across the surface of the Hive Ship, the insertion teams made it through. The Boarding Torpedoes slammed right through the wound and introduced the fear of Melta Bombs to the Zerg. Entire sections of the Hive Ship melted away in the explosion, leaving open even larger and cauterized wound for the Caestus Assault Rams to slam into.

The three squads of Iron Lord Space Marines disembarked. Six Terminators, a Librarian, two combat-squads of Vanguard and Sternguard Veterans, and a squad of Tactical marines came out from the ram ships. They had brought the Librarian as they did not know of the Hive Ship's interior, as their sensors could only pierce the most exterior of the bio ship. Since they were fighting a living ship, they could not properly locate the power source or other main systems using the traditional auspex scanners. The Librarian quickly found that the interior of the Zerg ship was utterly free of any daemonic whispers. In fact, it was pure calm Warp like he had never experience. He could delve deep into his mind and dredge up most fearsome of powers without too much strain. He did not need to devote significant focus and mental powers to block out the daemons. He could do as he will, and he did by shredding and searing a new corridor directly through to the heart of the vessel. Thousands of Broodlings came from every wounded vein and tubes, but the Space Marines were determined.

They caused grave damage to the Hive Ship was they made their way through the depth of the ship. They found one of the Hatchery Chambers, tended to by dozens of Queens looking after fifty Hatcheries growing withing the ship. Hundreds of eggs were full of growing creatures, but they were no match against a Space Marine Librarian unleashed. Originating from the Iron Hands, the Iron Lords could perform similar psychic powers as their progenitors. The Librarian shot forth the psychic ability to 'Punish the Weak' again and again. Giant ball of pure force caused a tornado of destruction through the walls within the Hive Ship. Scores of Hydralisks and Roaches woke from their chambers and rushed at the Space Marines, only to be pummeled by the supporting Space Marines, task made easier after the Librarian cast the 'Deus Ex Ferrum', and fortified their constitution against attacks. Soon, the Space Marines encountered Ultralisks and waves of Zerglings as well as more advanced Zerg creatures, but so many were turned to dust by the Librarian's powers.

Unfortunately, the Space Marine Librarian could not keep it up. Eventually, he tired. Even without the usual perils that he guarded against, he was taxing himself too much. One by one, the Iron Lords were overwhelmed. A Terminator was torn to pieces by a dozen Raptors whose Psi Claws made short work of the massive armor. The Tactical Marine with flamer was caught by the explosion of his own fuel tank when a shot of spine tore apart the Prometheum tank of his weapon. A Vanguard Veteran was skewered by a Spine Crawler after being pinned down by scores of Zerglings. He had caused the deaths of almost a hundred Zerglings by himself, but he was overwhelmed. A Sternguard Veteran was lost when his Combi-Plasma Gun exploded in his hand, crippling him. His armor saved his life, but his left hand was blown to his bones, and Zerglings rushed him. Like a true veteran, the Sternguard defended himself with his combat knife, killing a dozen Zerglings before losing his head to a Hydralisk's claws.

Dragging the exhausted Librarian, the Space Marines decided to retreat, since they had already placed several powerful Teleport Homers, hidden over by a flap of loose skin or a dead Zerg creature. The sergeant of the Tactical Squad soon fell as he hacked and slashed dozens of Roachs and Hydralisks with his Power Sword. A Tactical Marine blocked the bone-framed doorway for his team to retreat, holding back a torrent of Zerg creatures. He fell with dozens of spines stuck to his body and his armor slowly melting from the acid. The Assault Terminator and the Terminator with a Chainfist and an Assault Cannon defiantly stood against their enemies in a final stage of their retreat. The Assault Terminator batted asides hundreds of Zerglings with his Thunder Hammer and Storm Shield, while the other Terminator spent his bullets upon the face of an Ultralisk that had chased them, and killed the creature with a final swipe of his Chainfist. When they finally signaled for extraction, the teleportation device within the Battlebarge strained to cope with everything at once.

Of the six Terminators sent, three had fallen and though they attempted their best, only two of the fallen could be recovered, while the Tactical Marine with the flamer, the Tactical Marine who blocked the door and the Vanguard Veteran could not be retrieved with the teleporter. However, in return for such insult, they had teleported many Melta Bombs to the location of the Teleport Homers. The explosion buckled the Hive Ship was the damage sustained from within was too much. Though it did not die, it was so wounded that it entered a hibernation and most of its systems went into a deep slumber while the Queens inside attempted to revive the ship using their rejuvenating mucus.

Yet, the Imperial fleet had to retreat, their enemy too strong and too numerous to overcome. They retreated back around the orbital station, whose weapons augmented their firepower enough to force the Zerg fleet to stay away. Now locked into a war that she did not expect, Asmodeus was nearly driven insane with rage before Lucifer intervened. He severed her connection to the Overmind, her body falling into a deep sleep as she was thrust back into the real brains back on New Char, to be dealt with by the Overmind. Instead, Lucifer requested and was granted a new mind to take the name Asmodeus.

The new Asmodeus had much work to do, fighting against the Iron Lords and the Imperial reinforcements slowly coming toward this feral world. She had to win, and she had to defeat the Imperials.

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><p><span><strong>END OF CHAPTER 55<strong>


	56. Zerg Codex (incomplete 2112014)

I don't understand why they can't make Doc Manager to accept my format as I have pasted it!  
>Anyway, many people have asked about a unit list, so here it is.<br>I will not post another Zerg unit list, but instead update this chapter.

Also, it is not quite complete, and I would love it if you have any suggestions or problems you see in the list.

Thanks!

**  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 56 – Zerg Codex (incomplete 211/2014)**

Index - 

**1. WE ARE THE SWARM!**

The Arrival

Preparations

The Broods

The Swarm Prime

Witch Queens

Shadow Swords

Terrorhorde

Sky Blight

Unseen Blade

Satan Brood

Balrog Brood

Garm Brood

Nerub Brood 

**2. The Zerg Swarm**

Hierarchs

Patriarchs & Matriarchs

Hiveseers, Overseers & Overlords

Drones

Hydralisk

Roach Strains

Zergling Strains

Baneling Strains

Hunters

Slayer Adapations

Lurkers & Impalers

Infesters & Nest Lord

Defilers

Swarm Host Strains

Ultralisk Strains

Banelord Strains

Nydus Worms

Bio Titans

Mutalisk Strains

Corruptor Strains

Hybrids

**3. Zerg Psionic Powers**

**4. Mutations and Biomorphs**

Swarm Mutations

Brood Mutations

Overlord Genus

Zergling Genus

Roach Genus

Baneling Genus

Hydralisk Genus

Lurker & Impaler Genus

Infester Genus

Swarm Host Genus

Ultralisk Genus

Mutalisk Genus

Corruptor Genus

Hybrids & Cybernetics

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><p><strong>1. We are the Swarm<strong>

Zergs are a swarm of insectoid creatures that comes from a parallel universe from a different time. Bound by a single will that encompasses their entire race, the Swarm had been injected into this galaxy through the cracks in the time and space. They are seemingly nightmarish creatures of chitin, claws and acid, and they are indeed dangerous. They invade this galaxy out of the necessity of survival, seeking nothing but to thrive in this galaxy that only knows war.

**1.1 The Arrival**

Although the true circumstances and means of how they had arrived into the Milky Way Galaxy remains largely in secrets, there are those with the understanding about some of those events that had led to the arrival of the Zerg. Some suspect that it was the blindingly immense power of the Overmind, the single consciousness that binds the entire species into one thought. Truly, such power could punch a hole through the impossible barriers that lie between universes. Others suspect that they had been accidentally summoned by a foolish, and through the intricacies of the Warp, the Zerg were called. Yet, there are those who pieced together a correlation between a massive disruption of the Warp at its heart, and the appearance of the Zerg Swarm. The Infinity Well, the insane maelstrom of Unreality that pours out the raw energy that is the Warp, had once been disturbed in recent days. First discovered, or created, by the ancient god-like beings whispered in the annuls of the oldest races in mention of the War in the Heavens, this opposite of the Eternity Well stands as the counter-point to the heart of reality. It is the core of the Warp itself, and seal behind the incredible blockade set up by the Ruinous Powers themselves, none had understood why the Infinity Well had exploded into action not long before the Zerg had arrived. Perhaps, the Zerg Swarm had arrived through that impossible scar in the reality, first of many other horrors that could come from that place.

**1.2 Preparations**

The Zerg Swarm was not idle. Their members quickly marshaled impressive armies and fleets to invade the galaxy. No one knows where their homeworld is, only the whispers of the Chaos Gods, and the ramblings of the Emperor's Tarot has indicated their extra-galactic nature. Yet, all were surprised at the arrival of a new enemy. The Eldar, foresaw a great disturbance in their mind's eye, and saw all the prophecies and futures witnessed by their Farseers unwoven and remade by the arrival of a dark silence. They immediately sensed the danger and prepared their homes for a nightmare scenario. In the depth of Tzeentch's maze, the God of Schemes was delighted to find some of his plans shattered like a glass ball smashed against the marble floor. He would scheme anew and a fresh and even more intricate things were to be set. Still, no one knew.

Officially, the Imperium had encountered the Swarm in the Riax Sector in the months before its fall. Inquisitor Hadrian of Ordo Xenos, together with a team of Deathwatch and support of many Imperial forces, had discovered that the Planet Argol II, a peaceful little Agri-World from a glance. The planet had been the site of a rebellion many thousands years ago, instigated by the technological prowess of a rogue Adeptus Mechanicus Magos. The ancient heretic had in possession many Exterminatus-grade Virus Bombs, something that the Imperium would never want to see in the hands of a xeno race. The Inquisitor rallied as much Imperial forces he could muster to defend the Agri-World from the Zerg, but he was forced to order an Exterminatus upon the planet. Yet, the Zerg threat had already spread. From every direction, the Zerg Swarm exploded forth, and captured planets after planets. The Inquisitor made the Zerg invasion as difficult as he could, making a stand at Istandor II had delayed the Swarm long enough for the Inquisitor to evacuate as many civilians as possible, though some later suggested that the slowed progress of the Zerg Swarm may have got to do with the shrinking of the Warp Storm 'Maw of Kali'.

In any case, starting with the Fall of Riax Sector, the Imperial began to see many dozens of attacks across the entire galaxy, though most remained outside the Segmentum Solar.

* * *

><p><strong>1.3 The Broods<strong>

The Zerg Swarm is known to divide itself into several groups of creatures called 'Broods'. Each Brood is a conglomeration of powerful armies of Zerg creatures and fleets of Zerg bio-ships. Differentiated through the general coloring of their chitin, these Zerg Broods are individually unique. Some have specialized mutations while others have prevalent creatures within the Brood, and some have strategic traits.

**1.4 Swarm Prime**

The Swarm Prime is the personal Brood that the Overmind commands directly. Although capable of taking control over all the Zerg in the galaxy, the Overmind normally maintains only a nominal control over the rest of the Swarm. The Swarm Prime actually refers to any Zerg under direct control of the Overmind. Numbering in tens of trillions across a dozen solar systems, the Swarm Prime sits in its cozy little corner of the galaxy and continues to breed and evolve and waits patiently as the rest of the galaxy spirals into doom.

**1.5 Witch Queens**

The Witch Queens Brood was actually a name given by the Imperials who had fought the Queen of the Swarm. Alena, the supposed Queen-consort of the Overmind, commands her mighty Brood with impunity. She is given a free reign to do whatever she wishes, be it invading a Space Marine homeworld or negotiating with a clan of humans on a Feral World. As the favored of all the sentient beings within the Swarm itself, Alena is a mighty psyker whose powers are amplified by the Swarm itself. Her presence rallies the nearby Zerg into a psionically-charged frenzy that boosts their combat prowess to extreme degrees. Referred as the 'Witch Queen', Alena sweeps through her battlefields riding upon her giant Zergling companion, Tobias the Felhound. She is an excellent combatant, but it is her psychic powers that terrifies men the most. After all, shattering a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch back into the oblivion of the Warp with but a single psionic blast is not a small feat.

**1.6 Shadow Swords**

Technically the father of the Witch Queen Alena, Elric the Blade Lord, is the current War Marshal of the Swarm. He and the council of Watchers plot and plan each and every campaign across the galaxy, as mandated by the Overmind itself. His preference to use the Zerg's common ability to move underground had given him the name the Shadow Sword or the Unseen Wolf. As a warrior himself, Elric prefers to fight in a battle, though his Brood is often attended by his council of Watchers, a specially designed creatures made for computation of battlefield variables. His Watcher Council protects the Blade Lord with their powerful psionic attacks while empowering his creatures to impressive levels. He is also the mentor to several Hierarchs who had adopted Elric's preference to the subterranean tactics.

**1.7 Terrorhorde**

The Kaiser is the Lord of the Ultralisks. Volran, the Kaiser of the Terrorhorde, commands more Ultralisks than any other Lord of Broods. He fields entire squadrons of these monstrous creatures that comes in various strains and mutations. Still he is the master of brutal melee, and his horde terrorized entire armies in the quakes of their approach. Preferring stampeding his enemies to the ground using his mighty creatures, the Hierarchs who had learned from Volran uses any versions of such tactics to crush their enemies.

**1.8 Sky Blight**

Hargen is the high admiral of the Zerg fleet. As the Master of the Black Sky, Hargen commands billions of Mutalisks and their other strains. Although he coordinates the whole of the Zerg fleet, he also commands his own Brood, the Sky Blight. He blots out the sun during his campaign, terrifying his enemies before the flutters of wings could be heard. Nothing remains after his billions of flying creatures sweeps over a battlefield, and not even the impressive anti-air defenses of many stalwart defenders managed to stem the tide. He rides upon a specially mutated Mutalisk as a mount, but even on the ground he commands an impressive tally of enemies dead at his hands.

**1.9 Unseen Blade**

The Unseen Blade is actually one of the smallest of the Broods, and it is important to note the serious lack of combatants in the Brood. Consisting mainly of Overseers, Spylings and Changelings, the Unseen Blade is the Swarm's primary intelligence agency. Although protected by a million elite creatures to defend its key holds, this Brood is all about subterfuge. Using the millions upon millions of Spylings slowly creeping into the hearts of the galaxy's many empires, and controlling billions of Changelings to confuse and misdirect their enemies, the Unseen Blade pleases its master, the Blood Master, by planting more and more spies. They have also created scores of schemes and traps that only the Blood Master can understand their complexities.

**1.10 Satan Brood**

Hierarch Lucifer is a unique creature even among the Hierarchs. He was born with only one purpose. He has no desire for anything other. Designed and created by the Overmind to prepare and fight the Tyranids, the Satan Brood features many terrible creatures developed just to counter the Tyranids. Lucifer commands the billions that make up his powerful Brood.

**1.11 Balrog Brood**

Just like the original Zerg Swarm, the Balrog Brood remade by the current Overmind was designed to be the janitor of the galaxy. With their special mutation, they devour and chew through any and all, including fellow Zerg. Technically without a Hierarch, the Brood is commanded by the collective decisions of the Patriarch Council, so that a death of a Hierarch does not ever hinder the work of the relentless hunger of the Brood.

**1.12 Garm Brood**

As a student of Volran, Hierarch Zasz was recreated by the Overmind as a generalized Brood. However, given the presence of the Warp Storm 'Maw of Kali' near its assigned sector to invade, the Hierarch had become more and more successful in dealing with raw daemonic armies that spills through the Warp Storm. Though the death of the Daemon Prince who had summoned the storm had weakened the storm itself, it continues to bleed daemons like an open artery, and is blocked and funneled by the Garm Brood in an endless war.

**1.13 Nerub Brood**

Accidentally clashing against the Ork Empire of Bork, the Nerub Brood had suffered grievous defeats at the hand of the Warboss Klawjaw, and was forced to join forces with the Tiamat Brood just to stay alive against the might of an entire Ork Empire. However, its long fights had proven a boon to the Brood. Truly like a Zerg, the harsh conditions allowed the creatures of the Brood to adapt into efficient killing machines for the Orks. Each Zerg creature fight the Orks with terrible efficiency that finally drives back the waves of Orks, albeit slowly.

* * *

><p><strong>2. The Zerg Swarm<strong>

**Hierarchs**

Hierarchs are the supreme commander of each Zerg Brood. They are ultimate strategists and tacticians of a Brood, and they command billions of Zerg. However, they are rarely seen on battlefields as they usually sit in the depth of their Hive Alpha exerting enormous control over their Brood. Despite their rare appearances, they are truly horrifying creatures to face in combat. Each capable of annihilating entire armies and easily crippling heavy armors, they are the Swarm's expression of its undeniable will to dominate. Although looking very similar to the Brood Mothers of Kerrigan's Swarm, these Hierarchs are often clad in their unique appearances and adaptations suitable to whatever their task may be. They can, however, be clad in humanoid avatar.

**Patriarchs & Matriarchs**

Patriarchs and Matriarchs are extensions of a Hierarch's control over the Brood. While the Hierarch silently exude control over the Brood, these creatures are the field-commanders of the Brood, taking their little slices of the Brood to fight the enemies of the Zerg Swarm. Based on the Queen strain, the Patriarchs and Matriarchs are large creatures as big as Dreadnoughts but capable of far more destruction. Like the Hierarchs, they also can transfer their consciousness to a humanoid avatar.

**Hiveseers, Overseers & Overlords**

Hiveseers and Overseers all come from a very lowly creature. Overlords are the basic control relay that the Swarm uses to connect its lesser creatures to the collective consciousness, and evolved from them are the Oveseers whose ability to detect tiniest movements and spatial displacements often allows it to be used as detector to invisible things.

However, as the Swarm grew, they became greater beings. They became nodes of psionic network, accumulating into a control creature with limited tactical knowledge. In the absence of Patriarchs and Matriarchs, Hiveseers would command large groups of Zerg, perhaps making them an analogue to a colonel in the Imperial Guard Regiment if a Patriarch or a Matriarch is a general.

Overseers are extension of Hiveseers and they connect smaller groups of Zerg to the Hiveseer's control. While they are very lightly armed with their limbs or short tentacles, they are tough and resilient creatures protected by a thin layer of Plasma Shield, though they are often found to be quite vulnerable against powerful anti-armor weapons.

**Drones**

Although rarely seen on battlefields, these small workers are the foundation of the Swarm. Capable of morphing into any Zerg structure, they build up these structures quite fast. Should even one Drone survive, it could eventually rebuilt the entire Swarm within matter of months. Armed with claws but capable of hovering low, they were known to join the battle only to morph into defensive structures such as Spine Crawlers and Spore Crawlers, but these near-instantaneous morphs are quite rare and seemed to be affected by the Matriarchs and their psionic reinforcement.

**Hydralisks**

Hydralisks are truly the epitome of what a Zerg creature is. It is brutal, efficient, terrifying, subtle, elegant, flexible and obedient. All these traits were forged into a single dangerous weapon, and that was the Hydralisk. Their forms remain almost same as Kerrigan's Hydralisks, although they had mutated to have greater resilience and attack power. Standing at nearly 3 meters and clad in thick carapace capable of ignoring scattered lasgun shots with ease, these creatures were tough to crack. They also showed their dangerous streak by shooting powerful spines coated in toxin or slashing through men with their claws. It has been witnessed by many that some of these creatures could fire spines that are capable of penetrating tank armors while at other times cutting through Chimeras with their glowing claws, but all reports revealed how dangerous they were.

Hydralisks has several strains that they can morph into, however, given the unique nature of each mutation, they are explained separately.

**Roach Strains**

Roaches are the hard-shelled creatures that can withstand bolter rounds without concern and can even take a couple of direct lascannon shots. Covered in metallic exoskeleton of incredible endurance and strength, Roaches are often used by the Swarm to weather through heavy enemy fire. More than simple tough things, they are also deadly. Their powerful acid sprays easily dissolve an Imperial Guardman into a pool of protein soup within a minute, while even the thick plates of a Space Marine Power Armor cannot withstand too much of the acid attack. They also command strong axe-like claws on their backs sharp enough to slice through an Ork Boy without a problem. Roaches are extremely hard to kill since their incredible regeneration heals them when they retreat into the ground, however, given their heightened metabolism requires constant sustenance, denying their food source often weaken the creature. Still, they are often found to be eating through corpses of their enemies or drinking the dissolved pools of acid.

Roaches also come in two additional strains that are both distinct and specialized.

Smokers are Roaches that spits less acid but instead sprays the acid in thick fumes. Not only are these fumes of acid dangerous enough to melt the lungs of any breathers, they can also be thick enough to completely hide the Zerg inside them. The symbiotic nature of Smoker acid fumes muffles the sound of the Zerg who comes in contact with the acid fumes, as the acid droplets work like a thick blanket.

Beetles are Roaches that are clad in even thicker exoskeleton. Extra boney plating made up of highly-metallic chitin, these Beetles are almost blind because even their heads are covered in same armor. Although vulnerable while firing their smaller blast of acid, they protect their head very well and that compensates for their relatively slower speed.

**Zergling Strains**

Zerglings are the most common and most numerous types of Zerg. Often born in sextuplets or even in octuplets, these smaller creatures are the basic foot soldiers of the Swarm. Their simple DNA allows for maximum duplication while allowing many mutations to be imposed on them. They come in many different mutations that no army could be prepared for all types of Zerglings. Larger than their original strains in Kerrigan's Swarm, they are generally as large as a big cat such as lions or tigers.

Zerglings maintain two major mutation strains, Raptors and Banelings, but only Raptors remain within the same category as the Zerglings.

Raptors and their Alphas are even larger Zerglings with greater sentience and more psionic energy filling their brains. They are stronger, tougher, faster and capable of leaping into the air with their wings, which remained vestigial in normal Zerglings. Raptors often take the role as the leaders of Zergling packs, pooling their crude minds into a single focused strike.

**Baneling Strains**

Banelings are actually Zergling morphs, whose role is changed by the morph. Instead of lean and agile attackers like the Zerglings, these are soft bulbous creatures of large acid sacs hanging out from their leathery constraints. Full of explosive acid so potent that can bring down a fortress or a wall in numbers, they are truly banes of infantry. Entire squads of Guardsmen or Ork Boyz would find their numbered whittled down to very minimum within a matter of moments when faced against these creatures. Although physically weak, therefore could be taken out at a range, they can also move underground like all Zerg creatures, and they can become like a living landmine ready to bidet enemies with acid.

Two major strains of Banelings are Gorgelings and Splitters.

Gorgelings are used in rough terrains or if the Brood is in need of sustenance. Their special acid allows their body to bounce when the creatures roll, and they use this bounce to jump over low cliffs or leap over rough terrains. Their acid also coagulates dissolved enemies into little balls of nutrient pallets that Zerg creatures can easily digest or be carried into the Hive Cluster to be recycled.

Splitters are like regular Banelings except that their acid sacs carry tiny seeds that explode into growth when coming in contact with outside conditions. They quickly mature into smaller versions of Banelings. Surviving mini-Banelings can regrow into full Banelings if given time and nutrition.

**Hunters**

Hunters are the assassins of the Swarm. Morphed from Hydralisks, these serial killers are capable of sneaking through enemy lines and slay enemy commanders with impunity. More dangerous is that they are not lonesome creatures like their analogues in other races' military forces. Usually roaming the battlefield in small groups, they hunt their prey in tightly controlled packs that hound their target until the target is nothing but a smear on their claws. Generally armed with a pair of psionically charged claws and Hydralisk spines, they are also in possession of secondary tentacle-like arms coiled up like a striking snake. They fire these secondary arms in a close-combat ranged weapon or skewer an unsuspecting enemy or grab a fleeing enemy like harpoons. One of the advantages they have against other assassins is that the Hunters can remain unseen even if they are so close to even a careful observer. Not only they are capable of the usual subterranean movement of the Zerg creatures, they are also clad in special crystalline carapace that allows them to cloak themselves in a field of energy that turns them invisible. Almost no spectrum of light is reflected off an invisible Hunter, and therefore rendering traditional low-level thermal imaging useless. Only psykers or particularly powerful sensors can detect even a hint of their presence.

**Slayer Adapations**

Slayers are Hydralisk morphs, but they are very difficult to classify since their very role is about mutation. Slayers come in several different types, and possibly more. They are adaptation specialists of the Swarm, capable of mutating right in the spot to adapt to an enemy or to the environment. Slayers, unlike Hunters, are lonely creatures that are rarely morphed into being. Hierarchs, Patriarchs and Matriarchs are in direct control over these creatures and the Slayers adapt to any situation as their commander directs them.

Some have been witness by the enemies of the Swarm as a sort of commanding creature. These Commandant Slayers look like a larger Hydralisk but they exude strong psionic connection to the surrounding Zerg, empowering them with a shared sense of tactics and battlefield movement.  
>A Cerberus Slayer is usually created as heavy anti-air creature, and it is as big as a Lurker while its three heads can calculate and successfully target three enemy aircrafts and bombard them with psionically charged spines fired at impossible speeds. Encased in the psionic casing, each spine has explosive acid payload that can spray into a floating acid smoke, often clouding the sky with these dangerous acid traps. Of course, no infantry is capable of dealing with such downpour of spines.<p>

A Pyros Slayer is the ultimate anti-infantry creature, and an answer to enemy's flamers. Clad in heat-resistant carapace capable of withstand even fires from plasma guns, these large bloated creatures that stands tall above others would spew out special exothermic acid spray that is quickly turned into a jet of intense fire similar to napalms and thermite, melting Chimeras into pool of molten metal.

A Brawler Slayer is a melee-oriented creature of six arms ending in glowing Warp Blade upgrade. Although without any ranged weapons, a Brawler Slayer can charge through ranks of enemies on its centipede-like legs, and shred apart even toughest armor. Four of these large creatures had been reported to have tore apart five Ork Deff Dreads and then obliterated several dozen Ork Boyz before hiding back underground.

There can be any number of Slayer mutations, though the Imperium has yet to witness others.

**Lurkers & Impalers**

These are mid-range artillery support for the Zerg, if such distinction could ever be made.

Lurkers are giant subterranean creatures morphed from Hydralisks. Interestingly, unlike most of the Zerg creatures, Lurkers are one of the handful of creatures unable to move while burrowed. They fire a line of subterranean spines that skewers entire rows and columns of enemy, and the damage caused by these spines are quite impressive, enough to pin down Space Marines.

Impalers are actually just a mutation of Lurkers that fires a single large spine that impales a single target then explode. Using psionic powers, the exploding spine spews forth shards of psionically charged pieces of the spine that can easily punch holes in a Chimera's armor.

**Infesters & Nest Lord**

Infesters are horrific giant grubs that can use a variety of abilities to support other Zerg creatures. Nest Lords are the alpha strains of Infesters, and they are bigger and tougher than Infesters and can use same abilities with greater impact as well as a couple of other powers. Abilities such as Fungal Growth that cast immobilizing toxic fungi that not only grow through flesh and armor, they also slowly poisons any living things. Neural Parasites are rare sight to witness but unless immediate medical intervention is admitted the target would suddenly serve the Swarm, often going berserk and attacking their former allies. The most dangerous ability of the Infesters could be the spawning of the Infested. Unlike their original versions, the Infesters do not spew out the reprocessed Terran Marines, but instead they birth the Infesteds. They are humanoid Zerg creatures looking similar to Space Marines in size or in shape. Clad in carapace that formed around them like an Astartes Power Armor and carrying on their right hand a gun-like biomorph that fires smaller versions of Hydralisk spine. Their left hand is three-fingered claw that can rend through flesh and armor with ease. Although the longest recorded lifespan of these Infesteds is no more than 80 minutes, though that is enough duration for such dangerous creatures to obliterate anything in their paths, despite their slow lumbering movements barely keeping up with a normal human.

**Defilers**

Defilers are truly foul creatures that lives in the special mounds within a secluded area within the Hive Clusters filled with toxins, diseases and biochemicals that would kill or dissolve most living things in proximity. Redesigned and birthed by the Overmind as a toxin specialist for the Swarm, they are responsible for creating Virophage Toxins used by their cousins, the Infesters. Defilers are actually not assigned as combat creatures but they are capable of spraying a burst of highly toxic viral biochemical that would kill exposed living tissues to suffer increased necrosis of all organic tissues as well as breaking down the molecular bond within metal too. They also create intense psionic pressure in an area, which serves to suppress immune systems of living things within the area of effect, often causing instantaneous cancerous growths to sprout from every part of the body. Refining such ability, a Defiler can change a squad of enemies into bulbous balls of cancer that would explode in a shower of foul ichor full of Virophage Toxin.

**Swarm Host Strains**

Swarm Hosts are the walking mothers of endless swarms of Zerg. They are large creatures almost as large as smaller younger Ultralisks. While armed with only a short-ranged acid spit for defense, they rely on their thick carapace and sturdy constitution against enemy attacks while slowly burrowing into the ground. Just like Lurkers and Impalers, Swarm Hosts are unable to move while burrowed, but instead they spawn Locusts. Locusts are pudgy creatures of long sharp teeth and made up of big sacs of acid. Using their simple but strong body, they squeeze out powerful acid or spines against enemies. Although with lifespan lasting no more than 30 minutes on average, Locusts are far tougher than Zerglings and they can almost take as much punishment as Hydralisks. They are spawned in groups of six from a Swarm Host, and a Swarm Host can birth a new wave of Locusts every 25 minutes unless they are pressed for more. Given mutations and psionic effects of commanding creatures, a single Swarm Host has been seen spawning Locusts every 5 minutes for almost six waves before falling into an exhausted state. Some Locusts have witnessed to be seen flying and attacking air crafts.

**Ultralisk Strains**

Ultralisks are ultimate expression of the Zerg Swarm's will to destroy an enemy. These massive creatures come in various sizes but all witnesses agree that they get bigger as they get older and survive more battles. A typical Ultralisk is slightly taller than a Space Marine Dreadnought while as long and wide as a Leman Russ tank, though some were seen as large as a Land Raider. Armed with a pair of very large Kaiser Blades that can swipe through entire squads of infantry, they are also capable of tearing a vehicle apart by psionically charging up their tusk blades in glowing energy, though such things were only intermittently witnessed, perhaps suggesting the energy required to encase the large blades in Psi Blade was a strain on them.

Several strains of Ultralisks were observed, but almost all of the strains without significant modifications are purely melee combatants.

Omegalisks are giant Ultralisks with four Impaler Tentacles growing on their thick carapace, lashing out at the nearby enemies or punching holes in enemy tanks. Some Omegalisks were seen with Seeker Spores, making them deadly to enemy flyers.

Pygalisks are substantially smaller Ultralisks sometimes used to take the Ultralisks' role as heavy charger when the environment is too restrictive for the large Ultralisks to enter the fray.

Torrasques are special strain of Ultralisks that seem almost same as normal Ultralisks except for the Plasma Shield around itself body and the glowing Kaiser Blades. These anti-armor specialists can charge through ranks of enemies and shred enemy tanks and monstrous creatures into ribbons with their Warp Kaiser Blades. One of the special features of this strain is that their deaths does not come easily. Not only are they extremely tough, they also rejuvenate even after a certain death. Upon demise, the flesh of the Torrasque send out a wave of a dozen Broodlings to defend the large cocoon in the heart of its corpse that bursts into a fresh Torrasque within minutes. Killing it for the second time quickly before it could recreate another cocoon inside itself is the only method of permanently killing a Torrasque.

**Banelord Strains**

Banelords are actually morphed strains of Ultralisks to become the Zerg's long-range artillery. They are basically Ultralisks with large tube-like bio-cannons on their backs. Most of them fire Banelings across long distances, while others fire Scourges at high velocity against enemy crafts. Some even larger versions were seen with strange metal cybernetic implants that looked like a sickle. These cybernetic strains were seen firing balls of matter-shattering energy over almost 100 kilometers with unbelievably sharp accuracy.

**Nydus Worms**

Nydus Worms are basic transports for the Swarm. They are parts of a Brood's Nydus Network, and they drill through deep earth to come out spewing the Zerg creatures from its intestines. While thought of as defenseless creatures that needed to be protected, in recent observations Nydus Worms seemed to have learned to defend themselves by spraying incredible amount of acid at the enemies. A pool of acid around a Nydus Worm seemed to deter enemies from trying to kill the Nydus Worm before it could deliver its passengers.

**Bio Titans**

There are several Bio Titans, but too few were observed to be reported.

Smaller ones are referred as Gigantes. These are about as large as Warhound Titans, and they appear to be simply very large centaur-like creature with multiple limbs. However, they appear to be almost entirely anti-armor in their abilities, since crushing the infantry seem enough destruction. Still, they emit powerful psionic pulses that shred the minds of unprotected living things, forcing them away. Whether this is an instinctive protection against agents of enemies or it is actually a form of an attack is unknown.

Larger melee creatures are known as Erebus. These are brutish creatures. Although sightings have been reported, none has yet to make appearance long enough for observation. What could be told of their trails is that they are melee attackers of terrifying prowess, capable of tearing apart their counterparts in Reaver Titans.

Aethers are as big as Erebus but they seem purely ranged and psionic creatures of devastating attacks that fry entire companies of Imperial Guards into ash or melt down waves of Necrons in a single blast.

**Mutalisk Strains**

Mutalisks are the basic air units within the Zerg Swarm. In truth, they are nothing more than tubes with wings. Lacking any sense of self-preservation, these fliers would swarm in their thousands against enemies even when they are being shredded apart by anti-air fire. Their deaths, however, does not end the threat they pause of their bouncy Glaive Wurms which can tear a hole through a Guardman's body only to charge into another. Their bodies would exploded on death, showering those below with the acidic blood of the Mutalisks, often crippling infantry below.

Gattlisks are a strain of Mutalisks that has three tubes connected to a slightly larger upper body. Unlike the Mutalisks, these are leader creatures among the Mutalisks and they drag with them a field of psionic energy that directs the Mutalisks to find weakest targets and enhances their attack range. Gattlisks also have incredible rate of fire as well as being capable of firing multiple Glaive Wurms like a shotgun.

Devourers are creatures that spit out debilitating spores that sticks to everything, often blocking the muzzle of a gun or holding down the missiles from firing. Unlike their originals, they can attack the ground, though such attacks actually had even slower rate of fire despite the devastating area of effect.

Guardians are powerful long-ranged acid spitters capable of devastating enemy lines from above. Unlike the original versions, these Guardians of the new Swarm are also capable of attacking air units by exploding their acid balls in mid-air.

**Corruptor Strains**

Corruptors are immense creatures that can withstand incredible damage while shooting down enemy crafts. Seen capable of firing upon the armored vehicles on the ground as well, the Corruptors are resilient, one Corruptor being capable of taking on Hydra Flak Tanks and still survive to destroy a Chimera. They can also drench their enemies with special mucus that seem to soften enemy armor and react to the Parasite Spores that they fire.

Brood Lords are the most powerful among the Zerg fliers. They are living flying carriers. Each Brood Lord is surrounded dozens of Broodlings held in the air by the sheer will of the Brood Lord and its immense psionic capacity. They would constantly spawn Broodlings and would fling waves of Broodlings with their telekinesis. Encased in psionic sheath similar to the effects of the Psi Blade, these Broodlings would punch through armors and flesh, only to become active. They have lifespan that lasts no more than 20 minutes after being flung at such velocity, but a battle is often well over before they face their demise.

Scourers spawn Scourges, the air-equivalent of Banelings. These bulbous fliers spawn waves after waves of Scourges, eventually forming giant swarms of the smaller creatures. Given numbers, Scourges are known to destroy even massive vessels personally experienced by the Imperial Retribution-class Battleship '_Agony of Liberties_', obliterated by foolishly facing a swarm of Scourges head on.

**Hybrids**

Hybrids are curious creatures that are not quite pure Zerg. Still, they work in the roles as heavy units to supplement the Swarm's vast armies.

Hybrid Destroyers are an intensely psionic creature that can obliterate enemy armors from a range and turn men inside out with a single glance. They are tall thin creatures and surprisingly humanoid. They are known to enjoy small talks with their opponents before eviscerating them.

Hybrid Reavers are brutes capable of taking on a Dreadnought with ease. Not many have survived to tell the tale, but these creatures are larger than a Dreadnought and armed with tentacles and glowing claws that can penetrate even the thickest armor with but a lightest touch.

Zerg Zealots are humanoid creatures. Actually a hybrid of a human psyker and Zerg, these former humans work as the primary negotiator to the willing worlds on the behalf of the Swarm. They would negotiate surrenders and alliances and defense pacts, often in return for trivial tributes far less taxing than Imperial tithes. However, they are not simply diplomatic creatures but crazed berserkers capable of taking on entire squads of Imperial Guards and win.

Zerg Archons are terrible creatures of half-flesh and half-energy. Glowing in deep purple light and surrounded by crackling energy, an Archon of the Zerg is capable of psionic destruction fare more than a small army is capable of. Thus far, no psyker or a tank has been a match for this terror. Fortunately, it is an extremely rare creature.

* * *

><p><strong>3. Zerg Psionic Powers<br>**  
>Although they have psykers, Zerg use their psychic powers through Psionics, a refined energy processed through the legacy of the Xel'naga; the Khaydarin Crystals.<p>

Some of the common psionic powers include:

**Kinetic Blast** – Simple telekinetic blast used by many psionic creatures of the Swarm, these attacks were seen capable of denting the Power Armor of a Space Marine with but a single shot.

**Crushing Grip** – Used in a one-on-one fights, this intense psionic power does not last long, but it exert immense gravity upon a target, breaking bones and crushing internal organs.

**Psionic Storm** – Intense psychic energy courses directly through nervous systems of any creature within the area of effect, burning apart a brain within seconds. Even those protected by armors are unable to defend themselves against the immense power of these attacks, though psykers and those of strong will, or those protected by energy fields seem to withstand against these Psionic Storms to a degree.

**Razor Swarm** – A storm of telekinetic blades that shreds apart anything caught in its wake. Often used against light infantry and light armor, but the tough armors of Space Marines seem to withstand these attacks with ease.

**Mind Haze** – The Swarm is capable of confusing the minds and perceptions of enemies with surprising ease. Masters of illusions have been tricked by the Swarm more than once, such as Ahriman of the Thousand Sons or the Farseers of Ulthwe. Blanketing an area with this ability would cause the enemies of the Swarm to see hallucinations and even attack each other.

**Mass Recall** – For some reason, the Swarm is unable to teleport things to a target location, but they are quite capable of teleporting things from a target location. Some creatures summon scores of not hundreds of Zerg creatures from the Hive Cluster, right into the heart of the enemy.

**Reality Vortex** – Far more destructive to the gravity Vortex of the Protoss Mothership, the Reality Vortex harnesses the entropy of the unreality caused by tearing open a Warp rift combined with the gravity Vortex, pulling in everything in the surrounding areas into a single point and then rupturing the reality on that spot. With their forms squeezed into impossible dimensional space, the entropy of having reality shredded around them causes immense destruction. Not only is it dangerous to the things in reality, it also causes a terrible quake in the Warp, obliterating Daemons from reality and sending them back, in millions of pieces.

* * *

><p><strong>4. Mutations and Biomorphs<strong>

The Zerg Swarm maintains several mutations and bio-morphs in their DNA to be used as needs arise. There are some mutations that are applied to the entire Swarm, while some mutations are applied to a specific Brood as its Hierarchs requires them. In terms of individual genus of Zerg species, there are many options for the Swarm to modify their warriors. However, even through the advanced knowledge of genetic manipulation from assimilated Xe'naga, most creatures care capable of taking only three mutations or morphs, as their redundant genome spaces are limited. [Genus Level Mutations are allowed maximum of only three mutations]

* * *

><p><strong>Swarm Mutations <strong>

Swarm-wide mutations are common mutations shared by the entire swarm and all applied creatures.

**Cellular Regeneration** – Slow cellular regeneration is a natural trait of all living things, but in the Zerg, that trait has evolved. If a Zerg creature is not dead, it is capable of returning to full strength. Even lost limbs and organs can be regrown, albeit slowly. As long as a creature maintains Essence within their carcass, they can eventually regenerate back into full health.

**Collective Mind** – Accumulated into the Overmind, the Zerg are naturally psychic creatures capable of connecting to the rest of the Swarm. In this network of minds, they grow stronger and wiser.

**Burrow-Move** – Every Zerg ground creatures are capable of burrowing into the ground, unless the ground is reinforced by something that a Zerg creature cannot penetrate. Most creatures can move through beneath the ground as well.

**Pack Instinct** – Individually, a Zerg creature is no tower of intellect. However, in large groups, they combine their collective mental prowess into a sharp tactical mind that whispers them to hunt their targets in packs.

* * *

><p><strong>Brood Mutations<strong>

Broods can choose to select specific mutations and morphs that they wish to adopt. However, a Hierarch can only select one trait to spread across the entire Brood.

**Digestive Hunger** – The Brood is driven by hunger for resources and flesh. Their Drones gather resources faster and drill deeper. Zerg creatures have their digestive systems fortified so that they can devour and consume anything. However, sometimes the hunger overtakes.  
>[Boosted Resource Gathering  Boosted Constitution / Weakened Leadership]

**Instinctive Hunting** – The Brood has strong hunting instinct rather than forming large armies. Creatures would often gather in smaller hunting packs and run down enemies and slay them. This trait would force its Hive Cluster to hesitate in mass-producing a single type of creature.  
>[Boosted Collective Mind  Boosted Coordination / Less Numerical Advantage]

**Silent Stalker** – The Brood prefers silent approach to war. Instead of charging into the enemies in loud stampede, the Brood would hide and gather its strength while whittling down the enemy's powers. Unfortunately, this naturally makes production of large creatures far more expensive.  
>[Brood-wide Cloaking Carapace Mutation  Less Large Creatures]

**Nesting Matriarchy** – The Brood is focused on breeding a massive army to overwhelm the enemy in numbers. Hive Clusters produce Larva quicker and in greater numbers. Although impressive, there is a problem of applying on-site upgrade mutations across the entire Brood, and exerting control gets harder as the Brood grows.  
>[Greater Numerical Advantage  Weakened Coordination / Intermittent Upgrades]

**Alpha Leadership** – The Brood focuses its control through the number of Alpha creatures of each genus, allowing superior coordination in battles. Even larger creatures can enjoy the benefit of greater connection to the Overmind through the Alphas. However, being synaptic link, the demise of an Alpha creature could rattle the nearby Zerg creatures.  
>[Boosted Alpha Creature Leadership  Boosted Coordination / Synaptic Backlash]

**Rapid Mutation** – The Brood seeks to adapt to whatever situation it is forced to deal with. Allowing flexible mutations, the Brood can change their creatures as quickly as a new situation arises. This has a distinctive disadvantage in that each creature costs more resources to morph to ensure genetic stability.  
>[Rapid Genus-level Re-mutation  Less Numerical Advantage]

**Metabolic Acceleration** – The Brood seeks to end conflicts quickly by making its creatures quicker. Zerglings move at incredible speed in such Broods. Even the slowest creatures has great boost in their movements and attack speed. The downside is that the lifespan of each creature is shorter, and take makes several genus quite vulnerable.  
>[Boosted Creature Speed  Boosted Regeneration / Shorter Lifespan for Locust, Broodlings, Infesteds]

**Psionic Intensity** – The Brood commands an impressive psionic energy that pools into deadly attacks or mighty defenses. While powerful, this mutation weakens physical prowess of the creatures as many of their physical needs are met with psionic powers.  
>[Brood-wide Psi Blade &amp; Plasma Shield  Greater Psionic Powers / Weaker Creatures]

* * *

><p><strong>Overlord Genus<strong>

Biological

**Hardened Carapace **- Complex honeycomb weave carapace

**Pneumatized Carapce** – Membrane between extended tentacles

**Ventral Sacs** – Hollow sacs within the body

Psionic

**Synaptic Network** - Extra Khaydarin shards in their brains

**Plasma Shield** - Crystalline matrix carapace

* * *

><p><strong>Zergling Genus<strong>

Biological

**Hardened Carapace **- Complex honeycomb weave carapace

**Adrenal Overload** – Double adrenaline glands

**Metabolic Boost** - Increased heart, lung capacity and extra veins across the body

Psionic

**Psi Claw** - Extra Khaydarin shards at the base of claw-limbs

**Plasma Shield** - Crystalline matrix carapace

Zergling only

**Metallic Carapace** - Extra layer, metal digestion

**Hoofed Hindlegs** - Extra attack claws

Raptor only

**Communal Gliding** - Combined psionic ability, larger wings

**Photosynthetic Regeneration** – Bat-like wings capable of photosynthesis

* * *

><p><strong>Roach Genus<strong>

Biological

**Adaptive Plating** – React to whatever type of attack they endure

**Hydrochloric Bile** – Stronger Acid

**Pressurized Gland** - Extra range of acid at less damage

Psionic

**Acid Coagulation** – Capable of shooting acid into air

**Psi Claw** - Extra Khaydarin shards at the base of claw-limbs

Roach only

**Posthumous Neural Programing** – Even if headless, the Roach burrows escape and regenerate

**Acid Spread** – Sprays acid over an area

Smoker only

**Acidic Spores** – Acid fumes carry spores that contain condensed acid

**Gravity Reactive Fume** – Acid fumes last longer while floating at stable elevation

Beetle only

**Superlative Carapace** – Extremely tough carapace but slower & armored head

**Spike Balling** - Barbed carapace allowing the tuck & roll

* * *

><p><strong>Baneling Genus<strong>

Biological

**Corrosive Acid** -

**Regenerative Acid** -

**Rupture** -

Psionic

**Plasma Shield** -

**Directed Explosion** - Acid shower sent toward the target

Baneling only

**Posthumous Seedlings** - Renewed Banelings through a single seed

**Viscous Discharge** – Excess mucus slows down enemies

Gorgeling only

**Gravmatric Leaping** – Capable of leaping

**Toxic Excretion** – Toxic discharge in movement

Splitter only

**Empowered Genesis** – 8 Mini-Baneling spawn

**Seedling Genetic** - Mini-Banelings mature into Baneling

* * *

><p>Hydralisk Genus<p>

Lurker & Impaler Genus

Infester Genus

Swarm Host Genus

Ultralisk Genus

Mutalisk Genus

Corruptor Genus

Hybrids & Cybernetics


	57. Chapter 57 - Intermission Episode 4

So, I just wrote this because... well... just...

Anyway, I recently saw the trailer for the Legacy of the Void... I guess my New Swarm has got to go back there in the future.

So, we now have the Blood Master. Next is Alena...

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 57 – Intermission Episodes 4 <strong>

It all began with such a small thing.

An Imperial convoy was thought lost. The small fleet of Segmentum Command's own supply convoy had disappeared, but then again such disappearances were commonplace in a hostile galaxy. Besides, the convoy did not have goods of great value. There was no need for the Segmentum Command of Pacificus to intervene in such minor problem.

Though the accounts of the cargo had been ignored, the convoy consisted of three Imperial Transports carrying various items including food and raw materials. Most notably, the transports carried with them five thousand units of M40 Armageddon pattern Autogun neatly packed into their metal crates with all the spare parts and extra magazines and barrels included. Also, a thousand sets of Frag Grenades, fifty sets of Heavy Stubbers, and enough munitions to fight a war.

These were suppose go to a planet Cinkal V to arm its newly recruited PDF armies raised from the dirt-poor farmers and peasants who had recently suffered series of wars from the local Feral Orks, though they had been saved by the timely intervention from a group of Space Marines who happened to be nearby. Recognizing the low-level of technology on this feudal world whose inhabitants were barely able to make steel, the Space Marines had requested a little cache of weapons for these poor souls.

So, when the convoy actually arrived late to the planet, the local defenders dispatched from nearby Sector Capital including a Sword-class frigate and four Defense Monitors did not fire upon the convoy. It was hours later when the locals reported no reception of such weapons, and scans revealing how the transports carefully landed in the Ork infested highlands. Unfortunately, the dispatched fleet had already transited into the Warp and was out of reach.

Within a week, the planet saw the rise of a new Waagh! No longer as feral as they had been, the Orks of Cinkal V had made short work of their human neighbors. It was at this time that a new player entered the scene. An Ork riding upon a badly beaten up Oberon-class Battleship had came upon Cinkal V alone. The Ork was massive and clad in such fine Orkish armor that the primitives of Cinkal V had never witnessed before. Standing nearly as tall as a Deff Dread and suited up from head to toe in armor with thick wires and power cables running beneath the metal plates and giant sleek pistons moved the giant thing.

Though awed by the lone Ork coming out from the landed Oberon-class, the Orks could not help but to notice a trail of fresh blood behind the Ork as the big Ork dragged behind him a shredded body of a large snake-like creature with both of its arms chopped off. What they also noticed was how the big Ork's armor was decorated with things that were not metal but more bones and carapace. The enormous Power Klaw on his left arm had its blades replaced with sharpened bone claws of some creatures, while the spikes and knives around the back of his armor were also claws. The large banner carried by the Ork was decorated with the skull of a beast smothered in caked blood. The pair of massive curved bone swords behind his back and the gun in his right hand, which appeared to be a Hades Autocannon ripped out from the mouth of a Heldrake surrounded by four bolters wrapped around in thin layer of metal and wired to shoot together.

It was not long before the strange Ork bellowed a roar that caused excitement among the Orks.

"I da big boss Bugklaw! Nobody stronga den me! Who da lil boss 'roun 'ere?"

At the challenge, a large Ork appeared from among the Nobz.

"I's da Dakkakrug, da big big boss! I's like yer bitz, an' I's gonna take dem! WAAAGH!"

The two Warbosses circled each other a little before the local Ork, being slightly smaller and thus felt a little threatened, charged first. He was no match for the greater Ork. With a single agile swipe of his Power Klaw, the Warboss Bugklaw grabbed the head of Dakkakrug and squeezed. Those powerful pistons whined as they pressed inward while the thick skull of a boss-level Ork tried to resist the immense pressure. Dakkakrug fought back, firing his triple-linked Heavy Stubber at the general direction of Bugklaw, though the blinding pain around his head made his aim little more than a nuisance. Steel-tipped bullets bounced off the large pieces of carapace strapped around the metal armor of the bigger Ork. Then there was a cracking sound before the lesser Ork suddenly went limp and fell from the grasp.

"Waagh!" roared Bugklaw suddenly and there was some kind of madness in his eyes.

Before other Orks could do anything, the bigger Ork charged into the ranks of Nobz. There was no reason behind this Ork. There was just savageness that not even the Orks were too familiar with. Bugklaw fired his ranged weapon into the first Nob, turning it into an exploding pile of blood and meat, only to follow the attack by a swing of his Power Klaw, backhanding another Nob. The Nob was flung back, and crashed into several Boyz, but Bugklaw was upon yet another Nob, kicking the poor creature to the ground with his heavy metal boots covered in teeth of alien creatures. The Nob's guts spilled out and as the Nob tried to understand what was happening, the Power Klaw came down upon its head in a fist, and smashed the skull asunder.

"I da BOSS! You's all gonna do wot I sai!" screamed the mad Ork, his eyes glowing in eerie purple.

There was fear. These Orks never had such brutality among themselves. Sure, there were fights but there were usually joy in their fights. They loved it. They considered it a sport, but this big Ork was different. They felt no joy his acts of slaughter. There was just some sort of insanity. The big Ork was so worked up that steam seemed to rise from his body, and crackling energy around his Power Klaw made it far more terrifying.

"Now dat's gud killin'! Anyone else?" demanded the new boss, and the Orks all shook their heads.

* * *

><p>Bugklaw's reign was actually quite good. Despite periods of extreme insanity that seemed to terrify the surrounding Orks as the big boss simply slaughtered anything within his reach, the big Ork managed his new planet quite well. A dozen Mekboyz were selected from the Nobz at random and were given sets of tools and materials found in the cargo holds of the Oberon-class along with the pieces of Techpriests' corpses and their equipments. Some Nobz with preference to dakka were selected to be the new Flashgitz, given choices among all the weapons in the armories of the Imperial ship. Boyz were given many bits and pieces to arm themselves. Within weeks, a fully one third of the Orks on the planet looked like an average Ork warbands with decent level of technology and armaments.<p>

Bugklaw was strange even among the Orks. He assigned roles within the ranks of Orks, and Orks would either follow his orders or die horribly. Yet, his work seemed quite effective. After a year since his landing, Bugklaw now commanded an impressive army of nearly five million fully armed and trained Orks. Dividing his Orks into several factions, Bugklaw had them fight each other constantly while forcing them to follow his tactics and maneuvers. Any Nob that failed to carry out the ordered maneuvers were face the Warboss' wrath. His Waagh! became diversified and flexible in tactics.

He had three dozen cadres of Kommandos, each led by a Kommando Nob with bits of copper and a transmitter nailed into his brain. Bugklaw would command them through direct transmission to their brain, and the Nobz would carry them out or die at his hand. He also formed a twenty Weirdboy squads, each squad made up of a Warphead and four Weirdboyz as a support and a handful of Ork Boyz to protect the Weirdboyz. With copper wires and a crude Iron Halo-like device of copper fixed upon their brains, these Weirdboyz seem to be rather stable, or so they believed it so with that much copper. Bugklaw also used hundreds of Flashgitz in tactical support, and he carefully managed his Tankbustas and Lootas as heavy support.

Factories were built, but instead of traditional Ork style, he demanded conveyer belts and force the Gretchins to suffer repetitive stain injuries by introducing conveyer systems for his biggest factories. Ork Warbikes, Warbuggys, Wartrakks, Flaktrakks, Wartrukks, Battlewagons and various types of Looted Tanks were produced at incredible rate. It wasn't long before the Orks were forced mine deep into the planet rather than simply scavenging humans' remains. Some other things were built too. Ork cities were formed with maze like streets strewn with defensive guns. Ork fortresses were set up in key strategical locations designed to fight any invaders. Some passages too difficult to defend with traditional forces were simply mined until there was no way across. Rivers and streams were soon covered in small and large Ork boats with guns and missiles.

The most impressive of them all were the two giant structures that the new Warboss demanded of them. First was his 'War Palace'. It had all the luxury that an Ork can think of. It had weapons. No less than a hundred anti-orbital weapons were set up, both laser-based and missiles. Three hundred anti-air guns formed rings after rings around the palace, while every approach to the palace were protected by towers of great cannons and garrisons of Nobz and Orks. Flashgitz, Lootas and Shoota Boyz permanently garrisoned several score towers and battlements of the palace. A dozen vehicle garages full of Battlewagons and tanks were hidden near any wide open area to ambush any intruders. A hundred Deffkoptas would patrol the sky, while dozens of Warkoptas full of Boyz were ready to reinforce any defensive areas. More than that, seven nearby airfields were set up to have scores of Fightas, Dakkajets and Fighta-Bommers to come in the aid of the War Palace. In the heart of his palace, the mighty Bugklaw in full Mega Armor would brood silently surrounded by three hundred Meganobz, and thousands upon thousands of most well-armed of all the Ork Boyz on the planet.

The second impressive and terrifying creation of these Orks was the 'Spass Elivator', a giant construct that reached into the sky almost 300km. Actually it was an amalgam of six giant towers of 100km high holding up the central tower that reaches the large space dock set up in the thermosphere. Of course, such structure cannot truly stand even with the infamous Ork teknologee. In fact, the space dock constantly fires scores of small engines to push it up while being tethered to the Spass Elivator, and the Ork space elevator itself has hundreds of tiny thrusters and emergency boosters to keep it in place. Up on the docks, however, Orks were building ships.

With Bugklaw demanding a little more practicality and more dakka, and some purposeful arrangement of said dakka, Meks were busy creating new types of Ork Kroozers. The original Oberon-class had been fully converted into an Ork vessel at this point, removing all traces of the humans that used to inhabit the vessel. It was now bigger and covered in more weapons. New sections as big as a Defense Monitors were stuck on the Oberon-class to work as extra hangers for the Fighta-Bommers and Ork Assault Boats. Under the ship had scores of launchers for the Ork Roks, and nearby asteroid provided enough materials to creature hundreds of Roks.

By the third year of his rule, Bugklaw's new empire on Cinkal V was brimming with Orks. Not only was his flagship, the former Oberon-class, '_Da Killa Destini_' ready for war, he was in command was eighty Kroozers and hundreds of escorts. On the planet's surface, he ruled over ten million well-armed and trained Orks, with eighty million in slightly more feral state. With the natural resources straining to keep up with the growing number of Orks, Bugklaw finally deemed his empire almost ready for a new Waaagh!, except for one thing.

The first to notice something heading toward the planet was an Onslaught Attack Ship on a scout mission. It sent a message about a large bulbous alien creature. At the reception of the message, Bugklaw smiled wide and ordered his fleet to stay near the space dock. Alien vessel arrived over Cinkal V on the other side of the space dock and away from most of the anti-orbital weapons. The giant monstrous creature positioned itself over a very large arena that Bugklaw ordered to set up for his Boyz to train. It was a giant circular flatland 100km in radius surrounded by crude Ork walls with many gates for Orks to come through. The bio-ship then rained down thousands of pods that bombarded the arena perfectly. Not a single pod dropped outside. Soon, the arena was filled with hundreds of thousands of strange bug-like creatures.

Bugklaw excitedly ordered his Orks to attack the creatures. For three days and nights, Orks attacks the alien creatures until they finally slaughtered every one of the aliens. The Warboss then ordered his Orks to loot every claw, every piece of carapace and every sac of acid from the alien corpses. Soon, his Orks were all dressed like him, clad in bug-bits. Finally satisfied, Bugklaw departed his War Palace and seated himself in the heart of the _Da Killa Destini_, and sent his fleet out into the galaxy at large.

* * *

><p>The first Imperial world to face the new Waaagh! Bugklaw was the Jaris III, a civilized world on the edge of Horian Corridor. The Horian Corridor is a region of space containing three Imperial sectors and four dozen Imperial Worlds within, and it is surprisingly peaceful compared to the rest of the galaxy. Only minor pirate and Ork presence can be felt in this region of relative stability. Though its handful of Hive Worlds see local upheavals, there are no external threats that the Imperium sees necessary to set up a full Space Marine Chapter to look after. Another important fact about the Horian Corridor is that it is a passage way toward Macharia, a holy world where the famous Imperial Saint Lord Commander Solar Macharius was born. Also, the tithe provided by the three sectors within the corridor is rather significant.<p>

Therefore, when the Ork fleet was observed near Jaris Subsector, the Segmentum Command was quick to respond. They rallied Imperial Guard Regiments within the Horian Corridor, and sent five full Regiments to Jaris III while preparing defenses of nearby Imperial Worlds. The Battlefleet Veltos was sent forth to meet the Ork threat before it could even reach the outskirt of the Veltos Sector. The Segmentum Command and the Sector Command were confident in their Imperial Guards to drive back some Orks, and became proud of their quick response. After all, a whole Battlefleet and total of six Imperial Guard Regiments would easily drive a small Waaagh! back without a problem.

They were very wrong.

Battlefleet Veltos caught the Ork fleet in the Sairost System, the outermost inhabited Imperial system of the Horian Corridor. Thinking that feudal world of Sairost II was the first target, and Orks would seek to create a staging ground there, the Imperial fleet prepared for the defense of the planet. However, they soon realized that the Orks were not moving from beyond the asteroid belt near Sairost II. Upon scouting, they found a modest fleet of Ork ships, matching the description of their earlier observations. The Ork fleet was huddled around some sort of large construct, and much to the horror of the Imperials, it appeared to be a giant catapult using gravity-based technology that the Orks were creating to fling asteroids at the planet.

The Admiral in charge had noticed how the Ork fleet seemed to be much smaller than his entire Battlefleet, and decide to crush the Orks before they could finish the gravity-catapult. Five of six Battleships, most of Cruisers and a significant portion of Escorts were diverted from the planet's defense to strike at the Orks. When they finally reached the asteroid belt, the Imperials faced scores of Ork battle-satellites armed with laser-weaponry and torpedoes. Still, there were too few Orks to withstand them, so the Imperials headed into the asteroid belt. They chased the small Ork fleet, despite the heavy drain on their Void Shield thanks to the asteroids.

The trap was sprung when the Imperial fleet was in the middle of the asteroid field. Scores of giant coils built upon largest asteroids came to life, and sent forth massive electromagnetic storm at the Imperial fleet. With their shields already drained significantly, many of their lesser ships were rendered inoperable for a short time. Servitors and Techpriests hurriedly milled around to repair their ships while the surviving ships fired at the Ork ships that now played hide-and-seek among the asteroids. Suddenly, from beneath the Imperial fleet appeared hundreds of Roks and Assault Boats appeared, and rammed into the Imperial ships. Surprised and disabled, Imperial fleet had little choice but tho weather the boarders.

The battle lasted almost nine hours, but when the Imperial fleet finally retreated back to Sairost II, there were only two Cruisers and six Escorts, and chased by the real Ork fleet numbering hundreds. The remaining ships of Battlefleet Veltos fled the system, leaving the poor souls of Sairost II to the Orks. By the time the Battlefleet Veltos was reinforced by the elements of Battlefleets Sindra and Orhost, the Orks had finally arrived on the subsector capital of Jaris III.

* * *

><p>The War for Jaris III was a grueling one. Six million well-armed Orks clashed against the five Imperial Guard Regiments. Aided by nine million PDF armies, the Imperials held back the Ork tide as long as they could. Yet, these were no ordinary Orks. They understood strategy and tactics. Critical locations were taken or looted, and counter-attacks evaded or ambushed. Cities were bombed and towns were ransacked. Supply convoys were destroyed by Kommando teams while the Ork air crafts ruled the skies. Other worlds in the subsector began to see Orks too. The Agri-World of Riadin III faced Ork Bikers in their thousands while the Factory World of Ruen's Hope was invaded by Ork Meks and their Boyz. Even Syscoran II, the nearest Fortress World of the Imperium was attacked. While unable to withstand the fourteen Imperial Guard stationed on the planet, the Orks instead constructed the gravity-catapults, flinging scores of asteroids into the planet.<p>

The war escalated as the manpower from nearby sectors and aids from the Segmentum Command poured in. Unfortunately, Orks were not the only enemy that the Imperials had to face. Raids by the Eldar forces were suddenly all over the Veltos Sector. A previously unknown Craftworld had dispatched significant number of their military forces to the Horian Corridor and they crippled the Imperials from behind while heading toward the Orks. Soon, the war became a three-way melee between the Orks, the Imperial Guard and the Eldar warhost. As the war began to grow larger, Orks from nearby sectors began to join the Warboss Bugklaw, already becoming infamous for beheading the Sector Lord of Veltos Sector when he assailed the Sector Capital in a blitzkrieg attack that left the Imperial defenses crippled. The Ork Warboss was opposed by the Eldar Autarch Bien'rona, and her Howling Banshees.

* * *

><p>Bugklaw rampaged through the Imperial Guards opposing him. Covered in metal knee-cap protruding with Hydralisk spines, his knee was as deadly as any other, and it slammed into the chest of a Guardman who crumpled into a bloody mess as he was flung back into his terrified comrades. Sizzling hot beams of laser struck the carapace-covered Mega Armor, doing little damage to the extra layer of the great Ork's armor. The horrid guns of the Warboss was shoved toward the Guardsmen trying to open the door to escape the big Ork. They were not successful. With a thundering noise, seven Guardsmen were splattered against the adamantium-coated door of the Governor's Palace.<p>

"I will not die here by your hands, Ork!" shouted a brave sergeant who ran toward Bugklaw with his chainsword and laspistol.

A Commissar too came running with two Ogryns. The large caliber Ripper Gun fired large bullets that shattered against the thick armor of the Ork, and the Power Saber of the Commissar sang its deadly song in the air.

Bugklaw was not impressed. Blocking the swinging chainsword with the metal covering of his gun, he rammed his Power Klaw into the sergeant's belly, punching through the whole human in a single thrust. Then he flung the dying soldier at the Ogryns just as he turned his gun at the Commissar, who sought to dodge out of the way. The crude Ork gun exploded its bullets upon the poor Ogyrins, both of them being torn to shreds.

The Ork suddenly felt a little pain as something hot zoomed past him. Three of the Storm Troopers who had managed to kill some of the Ork Boyz fired their Hotshot Lasguns at the Warboss. Stomping the Commissar who tried to get up after his left arm was struck by the Ork bullet, the Warboss leaped at the Storm Troopers, and crushed under his bulk.

All around him, a terrible skirmish raged. He had already beheaded the Governor, and the severed head with rolled up eyes now decorated one of his sticks above the Ork's helmet.

"Heh heh heh... I da big boss. No humie can best me!" laughed the Ork as he watched six of his Meganobz tear apart a dozen Guardsmens and four Storm Troopers.

He had recently acquired a human teleporter device and his Meks created their 'Tellyporta' out of the thing. Unfortunately, he had lost half of the Orks he wanted to come down with. Seven Meganobz were nowhere to be found as four squads of Ork Boyz were also lost. Still, he had enough force to charge up the Governor's Palace and kill the Governor.

"O'rite, time ta go do mor Waaagh! Gazzakuf, tellyporta now!" he roared into his communicator to the Big Mek aboard his ship.

-Yessa boss... Uhh... Somfing's wrong 'ere... kan't findya on ma skreeen,- answered the Big Mek as his sensors could not pinpoint the Warboss.

"Wot? Wot do ya mean kan't finda me? Fixit and get us outta 'ere," screamed the big Ork as he reloaded his gun.

-Uhh... boss? I's seein' many fingies cummin atya,- reported the Big Mek.

Bugklaw turned just in time to see the main door to the Governor's Throne Room fell into several pieces to reveal a Banshee Exarch with a pair of Mirrorswords and her two squads of Howling Banshees. Behind them were more Eldar forces.

"Hahaha! Mor fings to kill! Hey, pointy ears, wot's you come 'ere for? Come to die at ma hands?" taunted the big Ork.

"Silence, Ork! We are here to exact a harsh vengeance against your befouling existence. You will pay for the precious Eldar blood you have spilled in your rancorous assaults," replied the Exarch, fuming in rage.

Orks gathered behind their boss, still numbering more than the Eldar. Two squads of Howling Banshees and two squads of Dire Avengers stood and met their gaze against six Meganobz, four Flashgitz and four squads of Ork Boyz. However, the real battle was the duel between the Exarch and the Warboss.

"Then come hither, Eldar. Your souls shall taste fine no matter how I kill you," whispered the Warboss, sending his words only to the Exarch and speaking in a manner quite unlike any Ork she had ever encountered.

"What are you?"

"I am but a servant of a greater power," sneered the Warboss before roaring back an Ork-like answer. "I da BIG WARBOSS BUGKLAWS!"

The Mirrorsword was pushed back as it blocked the sudden and swift uppercut of the Power Klaw. A storm of lightning exploded where the blade of mysterious Eldar technology and the crude but powerful Power Klaw met. The explosive barrage of the Ork gun was evaded by the Exarch as she cartwheeled across the vastness of the Throne Room just as the rest of the Eldar and the rest of the Ork forces joined in battle.

Bugklaw's first salvo had slaughtered two Banshees before they could even evade, but this insult was replied when a Banshee leaped toward the Warboss. Foolish in her bravery, the Banshee had underestimated the Ork and her left ankle was grabbed by the Power Klaw.

"Girly, you don' stan' a chance!"

The Ork swung downward, slamming the Banshee into the marble floor, splattering her liquified body across the floor like a lake of gore. The Exarch quickly charged in, taking the advantage of her sister's death. Mirriorswords sang, and the thick armor of the Ork withstood the attacks, though the pieces of carapace and metal flying off his armor suddenly made him feel a little threatened.

The Power Klaw swung from side to side, chasing off the Exarch, but the Eldar was persistent. She whittled down the Ork's armor little by little and drove back the Ork. Still, her blades could not strike true, as the field of strange Warp energy surrounding the Ork made it difficult to make the perfect hit. Suddenly, the Ork turned his gun on her, and she ran into the pair of Orks firing their guns at the Dire Avengers. The big Ork's gun tore through his own troops, but Bugklaw did not care.

"Stop jumpin' around, girly! Let me stomp ya!" screamed the Warboss, as he slashed down at the Exarch as she got closer.

She evaded the attack and jumped back only to face the barrel of the Ork's gun. She let herself fall to the floor, flattening herself to the ground as the bullets zoomed past her. She then rolled to the side as the Warboss lowered his gun to the floor to strike her. Her Mirrorswords slashed at the Warboss, blocked by the Power Klaw. Then the Ork did something unexpected. He pointed his Power Klaw at her, fist closed. It was at that moment she saw a pair of small missile-like things.

It struck her. One of the grenade-sized things struck her. It was painful but her Aspect Armor managed to withstand the impact. Yet, her ears were ringing. The impact had set off a pulse of concussive blast that had knocked her off her feet. She stumbled dazed as the Ork came toward her.

"Exarch!" shouted a Banshee as she got in the way of the Ork.

The Ork did not like that. Bugklaw punched the Banshee with his Power Klaw, stunning the female warrior and left her bleeding on the spot. As she sluggishly fell to the ground, Bugklaw slammed down on the lone Banshee with his Power Klaw again and again until there was nothing but red smudge left.

"NO~! You, Ork... you will pay for that."

"Make me, Eldar."

"Look around you! You are alone," growled the Exarch.

Indeed, even the Meganobz were being forced back by the Banshees. Though there were few Eldar left, only Bugklaw stood strong.

"It matters not that a few Ork lives are sacrificed, Eldar. They are but fodder in the greater war. You have no idea how deep this rabbit hole goes," sneered Bugklaw.

"What do you mean? What are you? You are no ordinary Ork."

Bugklaw chuckled as the last Meganob fell. Remaining Banshees and Dire Avengers now turned their attention to the Warboss, but the great Ork seemed unconcerned.

"I cannot be felled by these rabble, girl. I am greater than any Ork you will ever meet."

His guns barked death, and four remaining Dire Avengers and a Banshee was shredded within seconds. In that moment remaining Banshee squad jumped him. Their blades struck him multiple times, but the Ork fought back, each strike taking down a Banshee while he and his armor refused to quit. Bleeding and his Mega Armor torn, he was still standing.

Wounded as she had crossed swords with the Ork once more, the Exarch saw the Ork approaching her. She closed her eyes in anticipation of death. Her arms were broken and her swords lost.

-Boss! I's see ya on da skreen! I gotcha! Tellyporting now!-

"Wot? NO! You ijut!"

Bazzzzzum!

With a blast of bright light, the Warboss was teleported away.

The Exarch sighed.

"Well... It appears that the song of fate does not end for me here," whispered the Exarch as she felt her kinsmen arriving nearby.

* * *

><p>The Eldar forces of the Craftworld Sihan'trae reeled at the attacks of the Ork against their forces. Yet, their war was just beginning. Though smaller than most Craftworlds, they maintained a strong army because they did not squander their armies in wars that did not concern them. This time, Orks had bombarded their precious Craftworld with asteroids, and they had tracked the Orks to Jaris III, only to find their query too strong and too cunning.<p>

As the Eldar reinforcements began to arrive, the big Ork evaded the Eldar. He moved on to the Forge World of Meindor VI, and ransacked it. Eldars arrived too late and saw that the vast shipyard of Meindor was now empty, the ships stolen by the cunning Warboss, and the planet on fire. The Eldar sought to leave the metal world of humans when an elite force of Storm Troopers and entire regiments of Guardsmen attacked them. The Techpriests reported that the battle scars of the planet's surface indicated that although Orks had attacked the Forge World, there were signs of Eldar weaponry far more than that of Orks'. Moreover, the evidence suggested that the Eldar had caused irreparable damage to several key Manufactorums, crippling some of the more important productions.

Enraged, the Imperial forces hounded the Eldar, and the ancient Eldar was forced to flee back into their Webway gate. Returning to their Craftworld, they found their home besieged by an Imperial fleet. Though they managed to chase away the Imperial vessels, their worldship had suffered great damages. Declaring that the humans have interfered in their hunt for the Ork for the last time, the Eldar of Sihan'trae sent forth a great Warhost to Varastia III, a major world in Sindra Sector. The Factory World of Varastia IV maintained yet another shipyard, bigger even than the one at Meindor VI, and the Eldar exacted a revenge upon the surface of Varastia IV before attacking the Orks invading Varastia III.

Eldars of Sihan'trae had a sect of Eldar who were weapon makers of the ancient Eldar empire. Even after the Fall, they created horrendous weapons to defend their new home, and thus the Eldar Warhost unleashed one such weapon against Varastia IV. A special ship designed and built to house their weapon was escorted in secret to Varastia IV. Three massive barrels of the weapon fired something akin to the infamous D-Cannon of the Eldar, but with a far greater horrors. A hole was made on the surface of the planet about the size of a large island, and a billion Daemons momentarily followed through the tear in reality as the raw waves of the Warp exploded outward. Tens of millions died in a single moment before the Daemons were dragged back screaming, and their screams shattered even the strongest structures. A massive circle formed of several hundred kilometers in radius, and within that circle only metallic dust remained.

However, the Imperials were not pleased with the uninvited guests. They were dealing well with the Orks that attacked the Hive World of Varastia III, but suddenly the Eldar had attacked, slaughtering both the humans and the Orks. Eldars of Sihan'trae were now locked in two three-sided wars. On Jaris III and on Varastia III, the Eldar forces were driven to a desperate war against the humans and Orks, and the answer to such interference was another attack on their Craftworld. The Segmentum Command requested the aid of the Scions of Veneration, a Space Marine Chapter closest to the Horian Corridor. Understanding the scale of this conflict, the Chapter Master Varkus expended most of his available forces amounting to nearly five companies. Five companies of Space Marines descended upon Jaris III while a force of Mechanicus' own fleet and ground forces was sent to Varastia III to make the Orks and the Eldar answer for the insult they had inflicted on Meindor VI.

Realizing the level of threat that the Eldar posed, Chapter Master Varkus requested the aid of a brother-chapter in dealing with the Eldar. Three companies of the Scions of Veneration supported by three companies from the Vigilant Lions Chapter assembled an impressive attack force that included a Cadian Imperial Guard Regiment. They followed an Ork fleet that their Librarians had determined to be in possession about the location of the Eldar Craftworld. Space Marines raided the Ork asteroid base, slaying many and finally capturing a cogitator containing the time and location when the Craftworld Sihan'trae would temporarily exit the Webway. Six companies of Space Marines and three thousand Cadians including three full squads of the famous Kasrkin.

* * *

><p>Chapter Master Varkus let his 'Fist of Olbright', the ancient heirloom of his Chapter to slam into the body of an Eldar Dire Avenger. The relic Power Fist that was once a part in a set of Cataphractii Terminator Armor was made of such rare and powerful technology that the crackling energy surrounding the surface of the weapon disintegrated the upper torso of the Dire Avenger into a puff of bloody mist. Yet, the Chapter Master was not done. His right hand was moving, his wrist in agile grace so swift and perfect that he blocked all seven tiny shards of the Shuriken Catapult with his relic Power Sword. He was armed with a pair of relic weapons and clad in equally venerated Artificer Armor from the dawn of the Chapter's history. He was not so easily felled, not even when the Eldar had committed a significant force to strike down the leader of the Imperial attack on their Craftworld.<p>

Varkus had already suspected such moves, and sought to bait them. Indeed, striding into one of the power generation chambers surrounded only by his Honor Guard and a squad of Tactical Marines seemed foolish, even though the chamber was now well within their area of control. Space Marines had pushed deep into the Craftworld, taking a dozen larger chambers and pillars and towers. They had a foothold as large as a small industrial city. Imperial Guards of the Cadian origin managed to make good defenses around the area they had conquered. Eldar forces retaliated immediately, and the war council of Sihan'trae attempted to assassinate the Chapter Master of the Scions of Veneration for he was the commander of the strike force. Yet, the Eldar had underestimated the Chapter Master. He was a master warrior indeed.

With but two steps in strides, the Chapter Master slammed his fist into the chest of another Dire Avenger. Even in the power-down cycle, the Power Fist was enough to punch a large bloody crater in the chest of the dead Eldar, but Varkus did not allow the Eldar to die so easily. He swung the body stuck on his venerated Power Fist so that the incoming attack of a Dark Reaper. The dead Dire Avenger was torn to shreds by the attack of his kinsman, but the Dark Reaper was not able to fire again since the chainsword of the Tactical Squad Sergeant cleaved the Eldar's waist. Varkus was now on to the Banshees. Varkus' sword blocked the downward swing of the Banshee, the two blades showering a storm of sparks upon the battlefield.

He made a thrust with his Power Fist but the Eldar female deftly stepped back and fired the Shuriken Pistol against the Chapter Master's head. The incoming Power Sword had distracted the Eldar for a moment, and four shards flew toward Varkus' head but with bad accuracy. Still, the Iron Halo was already on, and an invisible layer of shield had protected the Chapter Master's head. Shuriken shards veered off by the vibrating energy surrounding the human's head, and the Power Sword moved again. The Banshee and the Space Marine met each others' blade three more times before the Eldar faltered. The tip of the Power Sword sliced through the throat, the power field honed to molecular level disintegrating the thin layer of the Banshee's Aspect Armor along with her throat. The torn esophagus and arteries exploded with blood even as the female warrior of Khaine slowly sank to her knees.

"Bring them down! We are the Space Marines of the God Emperor! We are the death incarnate! These foul deceivers have some scheme to strike at the Imperium, and we shall not allow them such sport. It shall be our sport of death and destruction that they shall play to their doom," roared Varkus as he slammed another Dire Avenger with his shoulder.

The battle had been won, and the Eldar strike force was almost entirely obliterated, leaving barely a handful who had escape back into the rest of the Craftworld. It appeared that the Space Marines would drive their way down deep into their Infinity Circuit, and the Craftworld would end there.

Fate, it seemed, had other ideas about that.

"My lord Varkus, I have just received an urgent communication from the Onyx Tower, our Fortress Monastery," reported the Epistolary.

The Epistolary Larkos had entered through the giant broken section of the wall that made up a tower of housings above. He was leading a small group of Space Marines and Imperial Guards. Varkus could see the exhaustion in the face of the Librarian, and he knew that Larkos was not a weak man. The Chapter Master knew the reason for the Librarian's exhaustion. The Librarian had been dueling with the Farseer and her group of Warlocks and Dark Reapers, and the Librarian had fought tooth and nail just trying block the attacks of the Farseer across the section that the Imperials had controlled.

Varkus could see numerous deep gashes and evidences of explosions scratched upon the ancient Master-Crafted Power Armor of the Librarian, and saw at least four deep wounds and saw dried blood in those spots. Even the team that the Librarian had led carried many wounds and reduced numbers. Of the one Tactical Squad and one Assault Squad, there were only six battle brothers had remained, two of them Assault Marines. The five squads of Imperial Guardsmen and a squad of Kasrkins resulted in three surviving Kasrkins and twelve Guardsmen. A quick calculation allowed Varkus to see that the last nine hours of battle had been dangerous even for someone like Larkos.

"What new do you bring me, Librarian? Do they miss me already?" laughed Varkus, shaking blood off his Power Sword.

"My lord, the Onyx Tower is under siege. Some enemy has dared to assail our Chapter's heart just as we have emptied it," answered the Librarian.

The Chapter Master's eyes widened in surprise.

"What is the meaning of this? Who dares to come upon our world?"

"Although we cannot confirm, the weapons are all made up of some sort of toxin," replied the Librarian.

"Cannot confirm? Do you mean to tell me that our defenders have not engaged the enemies in direct battles?" asked the Chapter Master.

"Seven supply convoys from the towns have been raided and teams sent to investigate were ambushed, and some casualties were taken. Also, there were several fast crafts in the air that had fired missiles that have exploded with some sort of poisonous crystal shards."

Varkus growled. He needed to return to the Fortress Monastery immediately, no matter if the attack on their home was small or large, yet if he had left, the moral of the Imperial force attacking the Craftworld would drop to dangerous levels. Leaving a small contingent behind was just impossible, since this was the Eldar's turf.

"Inform the others... We are leaving this forsaken Eldar vessel. Plant as many explosives as you can in most critical places. No suicidal missions to set up destruction upon them, but just set up as much as they can," commanded Varkus.

"Yes, my lord. It shall me done."

Varkus turned to the rest of the Craftworld beyond the ledge of the platform he was standing on.

"I will return here one day, Eldar scums... and I shall lay waste to your misbegotten kind," vowed the Chapter Master of the Scions of Veneration.

* * *

><p>The war for the Horian Corridor became even more fierce and it began to spill over. Even as the Sons of Veneration fought off the Dark Eldar raids across their home sector in retribution for attacking their world, the Eldar and the Imperial Guards began to fight beyond the Horian Corridor, forcing other Imperial sectors to pitch in their armies and fleets. In their blind hatred, they somehow had discovered and attacked a hidden Exodite World, slaughtering the populous on its surface. The reaction came in the form of three other Craftworlds sending their armies to exact vengeance. Two minor Craftworlds and the forces of Biel-Tan began to raid the Imperial worlds as more Dark Eldar forces ransacked fringe worlds for slaves.<p>

Orks also gathered in great numbers. Identified as the Warboss 'Bugklaw', the master of the initial Ork rampage managed to conquer several worlds including Jaris III, Sairost II and a large section of the Forge World Meindor VI, as well as several minor worlds in Veltos sector. The Agri-World of Riadin III, the Factory World of Ruen's Hope and the Fortress World of Syscoran II all became intense battlegrounds as the forces of Orks, Eldar and Imperials fought a desperate war to claim those key worlds. All these fighting had attracted other Orks, however, and the forces of Waaagh! 'Eadkraka led by the infamous Ork priate Hrak 'Eadkraka descended on to the Sindra Sector while the Orhost Sector and its neighbor outside the Horian Corridor, Canadean Sector, was invaded by the Waaagh! Tonkrass aboard the massive Space Hulk '_Da Bottilneck_'.

Other Space Marine Chapters began to take interest in the destabilizing forces within these sectors. The three sectors, Veltos, Sindra and Orhost, of the Horian Corridor, the Canadean Sector of the Canad Star Cluster, and the Osiris Sector of the Giza Passage were all under siege. Sons of Veneration mobilized in their entirety, recalling every member of their Chapter to their home sector while the Vigilant Lions contributed seven companies. The Black Templars had sent a Fighting Company of nearly 150 in number, while the Angels of Purgatory sent three companies. They quickly came in contact with the Orks and Eldar forces, and inevitably, the war drew the attention of the Imperium's great enemy, the Chaos.

The defenders of the Falkandia, a major world in the Canadean Sector were already under heavy attack by the Waaagh! Tonkrass. For several days, the forces of Falkandian 104th, 107th and 121st Infantry Regiments had been fighting a desperate urban war in the planetary capital against the hordes of Orks, while the Falkandian 201st and 204th Mechanized Infantry Regiments drove back the Dark Eldar raiders that attacked the mining towns across the northern highlands. On the other side of the planet, the three-way war between the forces of 'Eadkrarka, Tonkrass and the defenders of the Falkandian 209th Mechanized Infantry Regiment, 302nd Armored Regiment and 125th, 131st Infantry Regiments had driven an entire province of the planet's territory into ruin.

Now, the southern cities were suddenly covered in bright purple mist of raw Warp energy seeping out from the fissure in unreality torn out from the minds of a cabal of nascent psykers groomed by the Chaos Cult that had taken root on this world. In the major city of Iskur, a rich and prosperous city that had grown decadent, seeds of rebellion had been growing and under the careful management of the city's ruler, the head of the said Chaos Cult. A household of Chaos worshipers in charge of a rich city had brought forth several orphanages that fostered many psykers that had evaded the eyes of the Imperial authority. Given the bloody slaughter happening across the planet, the Cult acted. They focused all their psyker children into creating an angry, raw and semi-permanent fissure in reality. Scores of young psyker children died in the initial impact, but then people were sacrificed to coax the masters of Chaos.

Led by their Chaos Lord, a sect from the Unhallowed appeared. Once the Invictors, this corrupted Chapter of Astartes now came to bring the horrors of the Warp to this world.

* * *

><p>The Lord Hollow, as he was called now, was once the Captain of the Third Company of the Invictors. He was once a great warrior praised in the Imperium, but once his chapter had fallen into the traps of the false-saint, it was all over. The Abyssal Crusade had twisted and changed him and his brothers. Now, they were fanatics to the cause of the Chaos pantheon, and they were the bringers of the hollow words of Chaos written in their dark gospel. Whispering and chanting dark hymns, the Unhallowed crossed the fissure and took control of the Cult and their rebel army.<p>

While the rest of the Unhallowed assailed the planet's defenders, the the Lord Hollow was given an order by his master, the Lord Barren, the former Captain of the Second Company and the current lord of the Unhallowed. the the Lord Hollow was to take an ancient relic buried in the Alabaster Sepulchre, the tomb of a legendary warrior of flames who drove off the Dark Eldar raiders in the days before the Imperium had arrived on this planet. To claim such prize would be indeed a great feat.

"Come, worms and maggots. I shall not be delayed by your weaknesses," commanded Hollow toward the masses of Traitor Guards and rebel forces.

The Alabaster Sepulchre was set upon a low hill, entrenched like an ancient feudal castle more than any Imperial creation. A tower jutting out of the grassy hill was the entrance to the ancient facility that reached deep into the hill. the the Lord Hollow knew from the scans that there was a facility beneath the soft earth.

Defenders fired and scores of rebels died to buy time for the Unhallowed to advance. Several squads of Guardsmen manned the low walls of ancient make, and at least eight heavy weapons could be seen. He recognized some of the defenders as part of a Falkandian Regiment in their midnight green flak armor, moss green fatigues and their right shoulder pads in bright blue. The Falkandians were manning the west, hiding behind three broken lines of low walls supported by some sandbags and three Multi-laser Sentry Guns. They had three Heavy Bolters on the higher grounds, ready to use their height as an advantage.

On the east were the Canadean Regiment, in their chestnut flak armor, sandy brown fatigues and lasguns painted black. These rabbles were armed with heavier weapons. Several were holding Plasma Guns and Grenade Launchers, while two Heavy Bolters and two Lascannons were in good position.

What interested the the Lord Hollow was neither of these Imperial Guard forces. He was interested in those who blocked the direct path. A small force of the Angels of Purgatory stood their ground. A single Tarantula Sentry Gun was placed in strategically good position overlooking the path toward the entrance of the Sepulchre, while a Tactical Squad manned the defenses along with some Cadians. Yet, Hollow knew that there were others, waiting to strike him at most inopportune moment.

the the Lord Hollow sneered from behind his helmet. He had already acquired one of the secondary communication channels to the Angels of Purgatory.

"Hear me, filthy dribbles of Lion, you are weak. Your loyalty will never be reciprocated by your False Emperor! He is a corpse rotting away upon the luxurious chair. You waste your already worthless lives to his unrecognized glory. I come to deliver you to the unholy words of Chaos. I shall drive the words of the Dark Gods into your hearts... and savor your soul," roared Hollow as he flicked aside a bolter round with his daemon-possessed chainsword.

He saw a Tactical Marine fuming at the words thrown at the Loyalists, and it created an opening.

"Fire," ordered Hollow, and his men followed it.

Two Havocs fired their Reaper Autocannons at the Tactical Marine who jumped out of the way. Yet, under the heavy cover fires of six Havocs, the rest of the the Lord Hollow's forces could advance toward the Loyalist Astartes. All around the grounds of Sepulchre, battles and skirmishes were waged, but this one belonged to Hollow and it would be his glory to take the head of the Chaplain that commanded the defenders.

Four Raptors swooped upon the Loyalists, and they fought back. Hollow could see one of the Raptors slashing his Power Axe at the Chaplain who returned the attack two-fold with his Crozius and smashed open the corrupted head of the Raptor. Other Raptors fared a little better as one managed to drive his chainsword into the belly of a Tactical Marine, while another Raptor beheaded a Tactical Marine with a Plasma Gun. The last Raptor faced the barrel of a Scout Sergeant's shotgun and was knocked down only to have a Tactical Marine Sergeant cut off the Raptor's head.

Yet, the forces of the the Lord Hollow got closer. Two Plasma Guns, four Bolters, three Bolt Pistols and Hollow's own flamer washed over the first line of the Loyalist Astartes defenses. Even as the Loyalists were reeling from the heat of his flamer, the the Lord Hollow rushed them. His first strike cut off the arms of a Tactical Marine still holding his bolter. the the Lord Hollow allowed his flamer to unleash a new torrent of fire into the face of the wounded marine while blocking the chainsword of a Sergeant.

The Loyalist Sergeant slammed down his chainsword again and again at the the Lord Hollow, but the Daemon Possessed Chainsword was a little better and the Chaos Champion slid the next attack to the side and kicked the Sergeant in the stomach. The Sergeant fell backward and his helmet-less face was suddenly lit on fire as the the Lord Hollow sprayed his Warp-corrupted weapon at him. Having turned two Loyalists into crisps and seeing his forces cutting down the first squad of enemies, the Chaos Champion charged forth.

The Chaplain came down in search of the Lord Hollow, and the Crozius crackled with a hint of deadly energy as it skimmed past the Lord Hollow's helmet. The sharp spikes on the end of the Crozius Arcanum made a deep gash down the helmet across the whole face. The helmet was now useless, and the Lord Hollow let his flamer force back the Chaplain.

"Attack him!" he roared, and a Chaos Marine charged at the Chaplain.

The Crozius blocked the Chainaxe once before the Chaplain fired his Plasma Pistol at the offending traitor, killing the Unhallowed in three shots. However, the Lord Hollow had already removed his helmet by this time, and two re-engaged in combat. The daemon howled as its blades ground the pieces off the Chaplain's chest plate even as the Plasma Pistol took chunks off the Lord Hollow's left shoulder pauldron. Flamer once again encompassed the Chaplain in dark fires of corrupted fuel, but the Chaplain was not dismayed.

"You do not frighten me with little flame, treasonous cur!"

Yet, the flames licking the Chaplain's face was but a distraction. the Lord Hollow had stepped to the side and buried his chainsword into the back of the Chaplain's neck with precision.

The daemon danced in joy within the metal confines of the chainsword as the blood and the soul of the Chaplain was drained into the weapon. The body of the Chaplain slowly fell into the mud of blood.

"Blessings of the Dark Gods are with me, and as long as their gaze is upon me, I shall never lose," whispered the Lord Hollow as he retrieved the Plasma Pistol from the Chaplain and tucked in his belt. "You shall not be needing this, Loyalist carcass. I shall use it well to spread by the unholy words, just as you have spread your lies about the Corpse Emperor."

"No! Mashtacht!"

A fell cry from a grief-stricken Sergeant rang in the Lord Hollow's ear as the pathetic Loyalist attempted to kill the anointed Champion of Chaos. A quick parry, a knee-kick and a swing severed the Sergeant's sword-arm and the Lord Hollow did not waste a moment before driving his Chainsword into the belly and out the neck of the Loyalist Sergeant.

"There are more of us... You shall die by our hands..." croaked the Sergeant.

"More of you? Well, more souls and skulls for me, worm," replied the Lord Hollow as he stared at the dying Sergeant with his four feline eyes that burned with raw energies of the Warp.

The battle of Alabaster Sepulchre was over. The Unhallowed and their rebel allies had overwhelmed the few defenders, and now the entrance was open to the Lord Hollow to plunder deep into the tomb.

He gathered to him every available Chaos Marine, both of the Unhallowed and few mercenaries gathered under his personal banner. Four Unhallowed armed with a melee weapon and two armed only with a bolter guarded the Lord Hollow closely as rest of the unaffiliated Chaos Marines led the way into the vast halls of the tomb.

* * *

><p>At the vanguard was a Khorne Berserker only known as the Hound, while the two former-Black Legion Astartes were partially fused to their armor as if Possession had gone bad. A former-Loyalist from some random Chapter guarded the left flank with his Plasma Gun while the right flank was protected by a former-Assault Marine from the accursed Black Dragons Chapter with his pair of adamantium-coated Dragon Claw jutting out from his arms.<p>

"I sense more enemies. Down the hallway, and to the left. Yes... I can feel the flames... of war..." whispered the Lord Hollow as his feline eyes sizzled in concentration.

"Your orders, the Lord Hollow?" asked one of the Unhallowed.

"Berek, your Blood God demands more skulls! I hear a handful of Guardsmen beyond that corner. Harvest their skulls!" commanded the Lord Hollow.

The Berserker suddenly growled and became much more active.

"Grrraa... Gree... Grraaa..."

"Yes, I know. You wish to fight enemies worth more than pitiful Guardsmen, but a skull is a skull and blood is blood. Go!"

The Berserker charged forward, turning the corner and was bombarded by several beams of lasgun fire, but the Khornate warrior was not dissuaded. Splatter of blood and screams filled the emptiness of the halls, and soon the Berserker emerged with more heads around his belt and covered in fresh blood.

"Good... go on ahead."

They moved on. Winding stairs went deeper and crude stones became more intricate and elaborate, as if the builders were totally different people. Eventually, they arrive at a massive round chamber connected to even wider and taller corridor. The walls of the corridor was decorated with the depiction of the warrior who was buried in the tomb.

"An Astartes, but the size and scale is all different. This fire-monger is not like any Astartes I've witnessed," muttered the Lord Hollow as he examined the excellent pictorial carvings.

The wall-carvings were true in scale as seen by the size of normal humans depicted. The warrior in question was clad in a massive Power Armor with a pair of large fists that spewed fire. Dark Eldars and Orks died in droves as this warrior defended the local people and set up a great walled city. But a poison in a wine set up by a witless politician tricked by a Dark Eldar killed the warrior. The people buried him in the sepulchre with his armor on.

"Who is he, and where does he come from?"

The part about the origins of the warrior was missing. A part of the corridor had caved in just around that section.

"Well, we are near."

"Enemies beyond the door, I presume, my lord," said one of the Unhallowed, and the Lord Hollow nodded.

"Indeed. Berek, Alto and Vesius, take point. Slaughter them."

The Berserker and two former-Black Legion Astartes opened the door and charged in. Then there was silence.

-My lord... there is no enemy here... just their corpses,- reported Alto.

"What?"

the Lord Hollow led his men inside, and indeed there were bodies of sixteen Loyalist Astartes including a Vanguard Veteran and a Company Champion, whose shield was rent and his sword broken. Others were similarly torn.

"This wound is as if he was struck with a Lightning Claw but the cut is too smooth. This other one had been struck down by a powerful Melta weapon... possibly a Multi-Melta. But who has done this?" whispered the Lord Hollow as he looked at the bodies.

"My lord, the tomb... it's unopened. The Loyalists have not touched it."

"It is locked with a complex system of locks and traps, but I have prepared for just that," chuckled the Lord Hollow as he drew a small vial of crystal with something horrible writhing within. "It is a daemon distilled into a single drop. It will break all the seals."

Indeed, the distilled daemon literally shattered every lock upon the giant casket of adamantium and other great alloys.

"Melting this would be worth it too, I suppose, but let's check my prize," said the Chaos Champion as his men lifted the huge red and black armor.

"I can see that it is highly advanced... far more than anything I've seen. Yet, this metal... it's not as tough as ceramite or adamantium," commented the Lord Hollow as he scraped the surface of the giant armor. "The arms are big enough to fit upon a Terminator Armor, but the rest of the armor is suited for a small man. Bigger than a normal human but certainly not Astartes size."

"It's called a Firebat."

A new voice disrupted the Lord Hollow's thoughts. He looked up as his Traitor Marines all raised their weapon at the newcomer who came out of the darkness. The creature was another Chaos Marine by the looks of him. the Lord Hollow became wary looking at the size of the Terminator Armor that this newcomer was wearing. The Chaos Marine was certainly a great Champion of Chaos, as the mutation seemed to be prevalent across his body, fusing the armor to his contorted flesh.

The warrior was clad in dark red Terminator Armor that looked as if it had been pieced together from several armors, and some bits were not a regular pieces. The warrior held a Multi-Melta on his right hand as if he was holding a bolter, and the Lord Hollow estimated mighty strength in the warrior. The left arm was clad in regular Terminator armor to the shoulder but the arm was clad in large decorated metal plates bound together with wires and power cables. The left hand, however, drew the attention. It was certainly some sort of mutation fusing the Lightning Claw with his hand, as the long metallic claws gleamed dangerously around the chitinous flesh.

Surprisingly, the face of the Chaos Terminator looked quite human.

"Who are you, interloper? This is our loot and our kill, yet I see you've turned these rabble into meat," asked the Lord Hollow.

"I am Blood Master, the Lord of the Unseen Blade," replied the Terminator.

"I think I've heard of your name... but it was rumored that you were dead, and your warband's name wasn't Unseen Blade," muttered the Lord Hollow.

"I serve a new master now, Champion. I am here to claim that armor. It does not belong to this galaxy, and my master wish it retrieved."

"Whom do you serve?"

"Well, I wish I could tell you, but what good it possibly do for you when you are dead?" asked the stranger.

the Lord Hollow growled as he gripped his Daemon Possessed Chainsword.

"You seek to challenge us? We are not some worthless Loyalists, and we will not fall so easily," claimed the Lord Hollow as he defiantly stood his ground.

"So many words, so little deeds."

"Kill him!"

Berek the Berserker was first to attack the Blood Master with his chainaxe raised high. He was a fool. The Multi-Melta blazed and the Khorne Berserker was vaporized flesh and metal, while the backhand strike so casually thrown at Alto the Black Legion Astartes managed to send the Chaos Marine reeling into the wall. The claws of the Blood Master's left hand glowed in eerie purple glow and they cut through the body of the former-Black Dragon before the Assault Marine could even swing his Dragon Claw.

A blast from a Plasma Gun exploded upon the skin-tight shield around the Terminator likes of which none of the Chaos Marines had seen. The hexagonal flashes absorbed all of the plasma damage, and left not a trace. The Multi-Melta fired again, killing the Chaos Marine with the Plasma Gun. Vesius the Black Legion Astartes charged at the Terminator with his Power Axe. The claws grabbed the blade of the axe, and the two weapons exploded in sparks but the energy field around the claws won, and the axe was broken.

As Vesius stumbled in shock, the claws punched into his chest and neck, and tore out the organs. The Unhallow attacked the Terminator but the glowing claws was too much. The Multi-Melta dispatched two Unhallowed Astartes in a single shotgun-like blast, and the claws tore off the head of another. The Lord Hollow could no longer stand idly by.

"Your skull shall decorate my chambers, Blood Master!" roared the Lord Hollow as he swung his weapon and let loose his flamer.

The shield of the Blood Master flared as he stood still when the flames cascaded over him. The chainsword was blocked by the claws. The Lord Hollow lunged himself to the side just as the Multi-Melta blasted where he stood. Then the kick came, sending the Lord Hollow rolling into the wall. Lord Hollow vomited blood as he felt his intestines burst. Before he could react, claws of the Blood Master grabbed Lord Hollow's head.

"Now, you may die."

Crunch

* * *

><p>"I do not understand. Why do we play these games?" demanded the husky voice of a Hierarch in humanoid avatar.<p>

"Games?" asked the Blood Master as his telekinesis slowly laid down the Firebat armor.

"Yes... Your Brood has done nothing. Why am I here? My Brood stands by at your orders, but you play your puppet games with this 'Bugklaw'. Didn't he die quite a long ago?" questioned the Hierarch.

"He was a creature long before your time, young Hierarch. I suppose he is a nostalgia for those of us who had fought him. It was glorious... and he was devious. It reminds us that we can defeat any opponent."

"Allow me just to overwhelm these critters with my Brood, and I shall slaughter them!"

Powerful burst of telekinesis slammed the avatar of the Hierarch into the boney wall of the Hive Cluster.

"You will do as I say, little thing. I play my games as per orders from the Overmind. I have plunged five sectors into war that would spill over to even more sectors, and I control the players. I am the Unseen Blade."

* * *

><p><span><strong>END OF CHAPTER 57<strong>


	58. Chapter 58 - Intermission Episode 5

Thank you for liking the previous chapters of the Intermission Episodes.

These episodes are actually critical in laying down important story elements for the rest of the story.

It deals with how the Zerg came to this universe and about the implications of Terran technology as well as Judanus being a major player.

The Intermission Episode 5 and 6, and possibly 7 as well, will be a major piece about **Alena & Zerg, Lilgath & CSM, Space Marines, Imperial Guards **and** the Necrons**.

Thus the possible three-chapter length of these episodes.

Oh, can you guess where Alena is in this chapter?

If you have any questions about the weapons used by the local rebels or what kind of armor General Vegin's forces wear... I can tell you later... hahahahahaha~

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 58 – Intermission Episode 5 <strong>

I am the Overmind.

I oversee everything that happens to my Swarm.

That included the campaigns of disruption that my faithful spymaster, the Blood Master, carries out in my name. He has literally millions Spylings under this command infiltrating every corner of the Imperium, Chaos and even the Tau. None of other plans and campaigns were as grandiose as the Horian Campaign that included the Ork Warboss Bugklaw, a successful case of Spyling overtaking an Ork of a Warboss size. However, there were some campaigns that took things to similar scale.

Unfortunately, one of the campaigns had attracted the attention of my Alena.

* * *

><p><strong>Segmentum Obscurus<strong>

**Zasphor Sector**

**Fordian Subsector**

**Hive World Fordia**

**High-Orbit **

**White Hawks Astartes Battlebarge '****_Gloria Coruscare_****', Deathwatch Strike Cruiser '****_Iratus Dominus_****'**

"Surrender, general. I do no wish to spill any loyal blood of the Emperor over a matter of jurisdiction. I assure you that if you stay this course, my Company will use force to subdue you."

The low baritone voice of a Space Marine spoke directly at the hologram of a human's bust in front of him.

-I know that you have your mission, Captain Jaeger, however we also have our mission that comes down directly from the Segmentum Command to reclaim this world under the authority of the Imperium.-

The man in the hologram, clad in finer grabs with many medals on his chest replied forcefully. Captain Jaeger of the White Hawks 3rd Company growled at the stubbornness of the man.

"I have a Ordo Xenos Inquisitor backing us along with members of the Death Watch, and we seek the signs of a mysterious aliens that have driven this rebellion in motion. With you floundering around the planet, we cannot pursue our line of inquiry when you have obliterated everything in your path," said the Captain, trying to explain.

-I also have an Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus and a force of the Adepta Sororitas who seek the leader of rebels, and your 'floundering' cannot and will not be tolerated in search for some unidentified xeno race. We have the jurisdiction here, captain, and I will order my men to fire upon you if I must,- countered the general.

"General Jonas Roux, this is your final warning. I am willing to allow your men to retreat back into orbit, but if you continue this course, we will be forced to purge you along with the rebels and the traitors," declared Jaeger.

-So be it, then, captain. Let the Emperor be the judge.-

"So we shall."

The hologram turned off, and Captain Jaeger turned away from the console. He slammed his fist down upon an empty table, denting the large metal table. He strode out from the communication chamber in his ornate Artificer Armor painted in bone-white with dark gray shoulder pauldrons and below the knees. Outside, there were others who awaited him.

"I take it that the diplomacy has failed, captain?" asked the Inquisitor clad in beautifully crafted Power Armor any First Company Veteran would desire.

"I have heard of General Roux. His reputation proceeds him. He is well known in these areas as a shrewd tactician and stalwart warrior of great prowess. Also, he is known for his stubbornness. I wouldn't put too much stock into him giving up, captain," said the Librarian in his blue and white armor.

"If he won't cooperate, we must deal with him personally," interjected another Space Marine, clearly from the Space Wolves but in his Deathwatch colors.

"Unfortunately, it appears that you are not the only Inquisitor on this planet, Lord Zacaros. The search for this mysterious 'Zorg' has just become far more difficult," said Jaeger to the Inquisitor.

"Firstly, it's 'Zerg' according to the last un-garbled communication from Inquisitor Hadrian, and they may pose significant threat to the Imperium. Secondly, who is this other Inquisitor?" asked Zacaros.

"He didn't say, just like I did not utter your name. All I can infer is that this other Inquisitor is of the Ordo Hereticus and a force of Adepta Sororitas have joined the Imperial Guards. Their forces shall be far more difficult to dislodge than General Roux' own forces, and even that would be difficult," answered Jaeger.

"No amount of girls can outmatch the might of the Emperor's Finest, captain," growled the Watch Captain from the Space Wolves.

"I know my men will not hesitate in battling them, but I have my doubts, Inquisitor. Is this necessary?" demanded Jaeger.

"Absolutely, captain. When I had received the dispatches from the Ordo, I merely thought this Zerg to be a race from a dark corner of the galaxy, but my contacts across the Imperium has reported several cases of similar creatures attacking Imperial holdings," replied the Inquisitor. "Moreover, each contact that had sent me such report went silent, and entire sectors and subsectors were surrounded a thick silence in the Warp that denies any travel through them."

"No communications, no Warp-travel and certainly no survivors thus far," said the Watch Captain.

Jaeger turned to the Deathwatch.

"You have served in the Deathwatch for a long time, Captain Tennfjord. Are these creatures so dangerous?"

The old wolf nodded.

"Far more than anything I've ever slain in the name of the Emperor. They are deadly. They are as agile as the Eldar, and as venomous as the Dark Eldar. Certainly as tough and numerous as Orks. They pose grave threat, Captain Jaeger."

Jaeger closed his eyes and thought for a moment before nodding.

"Then we shall do what we must. If we must grind these rebels into submission or defeat the fellow Imperials into surrendering, then we shall do so!" declared the captain, who turned to the Librarian. "Brother Epistolary Baumhauer, assemble the men. We are now at war."

The Librarian bowed his head slightly.

"As you will, captain. We shall follow."

Zacaros smiled in approval.

"Though you may spill blood loyal to the Emperor, the Imperium will thank you for your service. The rebellion of a world, as rich and important as this one, is nothing compared to a xeno empire that has somehow spread across the far corners of the Imperium," said the Inquisitor. "You will sit on the right side of the Emperor on this, Captain Jaeger."

"I hope so, Lord Inquisitor. I certainly hope so..."

* * *

><p><strong>High-Orbit <strong>

**Battlefleet Zasphor - Emperor-class Battleship '****_Consul of Souls_****'**

"Well, that went just as I had expected, Inquisitor. I don't know what else you were after."

General Jonas Roux groaned as he craned his neck. Across the holographic transmitter, three figures stood in the shadows.

"This Captain Jaeger is a heretic! We shall torch his Battlebarge for his heresy!" shouted a female.

"Please, Canoness Luria, do not be so hasty. I am sure this Captain Jaeger was doing what he thought was best for the Imperium, no matter how misguided he may be," replied another person.

"Inquisitor Maldor, I assure you that ignorance does not justify his heretical behavior. The White Hawks shall feel the taste of our bolter before they repent," growled the Canoness Commander Luria. "And I will have the head the Captain Jaeger as an example."

Her violent reaction seemed rather aggressive, and even the Inquisitor frowned a little. Maldor had never worked with her before, but she was a famous witch-hunter with a venomous hate for any psyker. If Maldor had been a psyker, then she would rather have gone into a long secluded penance than serve his cause. This had excluded any possibility of adding any psyker into Maldor's retinue.

"I would rather not, Canoness. They have an Inquisitor, from Ordo Xenos, which means that there is a xeno threat nearby. However, our priority is clear. We must destroy this rebellion before it spreads any further," declared Maldor. "The taint of treason has been detected as far as Zasphora Prime itself. At least a dozen worlds will erupt in full rebellion if we do not catch the leader of this rebellion."

Maldor tried to turn the attention to the problem at hand. Indeed, the rebellion that was now consuming most of this large planet was a dangerous one. Hive World of Fordia was the fourth planet of the very large yellow sun's system, and it was a large planet. Almost twice as large as the Holy Terra, its lighter core had reduced the gravity to acceptable limits of human conditions.

Still, the large landmass, deep seas, steep mountains and generally harsh environment had turned its natives into shorter but sturdy men. These muscle-bound men stood at an average of 1.7m but often weighed around 100kg of mostly muscle, these hardy men had provided many Imperial Guard Regiments over the years. Fordian Infantry Regiments were often called to harsh worlds of greater gravity to deal with enemies who grew up on those worlds. Moreover, Fordia was the capital of the Fordian Subsector, a major Imperial hold that knitted the Imperial sectors in the Horn Reach Expanse, a stretch of habitable solar systems on the edge of the Akrean Star Cluster.

Akrean Star Cluster was by no means the only key Imperial regions in the Segmentum Obscurus, since there were many others in the Segmentum that the Imperium always considered with greater value, the Zasphor Sector was the lynchpin in keeping the Akrean Star Cluster from scattering in the wind. By being on the edge of the Astronomicon's reach, the Imperial presence was light in the region. Thus the Akrean Star Cluster was a hostile zone, and the Horn Reach Expanse was the key in holding the Imperial interest in the region.

The four Sectors and eleven Subsectors of the Horn Reach Expanse were sturdy enough that the eruption of one planet's rebellion should not topple them, but the Inquisitor soon found other evidences that horrified him.

"Trust me, Inquisitor. My men will see it done," said the general. "We have my Cadian 146th as well as the forces of Zasphoran 251st Armored Regiment to add to our firepower, and manpower is provided by Zasphoran 101st Heavy Infantry Regiment, the 'Steamrollers'. No rebel or no interfering parties shall be our match."

"How about the moral of your men, general? They must be told that they may be fighting Astartes, loyal or otherwise," asked the Inquisitor.

"I believe I can answer that, Lord Inquisitor!" exclaimed the third person. "My Commissars will take tighter leash on the men, and will not hesitate to execute any cowards or doubters."

"Very good, Lord Commissar Kaidon. I feel that under your careful guidance, these men will not hesitate to fire upon the Astartes of the White Hawks."

"Thank you, Inquisitor."

The Lord Commissar Leglas Kaidon was the Regimental Commissar of General Roux, and both has served with distinction across many campaigns. He had also been the headmaster of the Commissar program of the Schola Progenum of Leon Tertius, an Imperial Fortress World in Zasphor Sector for seven years. He commanded respect and fear among the Guardsmen, and he led a troop of over a thirty Commissars. This high number of Commissars under him as well as plenty of Ogryn bodyguards allowed General Roux to maintain a strict control over his men through Kaidon.

Ogryns were another factor in Roux's army. Leon Tertius was also a homeworld for these abhumans. They were recruited in droves and trained and drilled and brainwashed until they were the perfect bodyguards for Kaidon's Commissars. While General Roux only maintain two Bullgryns and a Bone'ead Ogryn among his large retinue, Lord Commissar Kaidon often waded into battle with his twelve Ogryn bodyguards. So numerous are the Ogryns in Roux's Cadian 146th Mechanized Infantry Regiment that even the Junior Commissars are granted two Ogryns as their retinue while the regular Commissars are often seen with four or more Ogryns.

Roux regularly used his numerous Ogryns and strong Storm Trooper sections to his advantage. Enemies often do not stand a chance during a close infantry-only battles when a squad of Bullgryns charge with their shields and Storm Troopers fire from behind, while other Ogryn squads pummel their enemies from the flank.

"What of your forces, Canoness?" asked the Inquistor.

Canoness Luria lifted her sword, making it crackle with energy and then burst into flames. She looked beautiful for a woman of 50 years old by looking like she was in her twenties. Even with some limited Rejuvent treatments, she kept in shape and maintained herself very well. Yet, there was a danger to her blazing fanatic eyes.

"My sisters will not pause a moment before we nail a bolter round into the skull of a heretic," replied Luria.

"Very good, then. I shall begin our assault, Inquisitor. We will need to set up a beachhead first, as we are going into enemy territory. The rebels are well-armed and have been entrenched well. Besides, the Fordians are known for their sturdy constitution and stubbornness. This will not be easy," said General Roux.

The planet below was almost entirely covered in enemy positions. There were four Hives that declared their loyalty to the Imperium, but they were isolated and barely holding on. Nineteen other Hives were divided among three rebel factions, the largest rebellion controlling nine Hives and all that they produced. Even the smallest Hive maintained a PDF army of one hundred thousand and more as well as various vehicles, both STC tech or the local tech.

"My sisters will aid you, general. I have two squads of very eager Serphims ready to spill the blood of traitors," offered the Canoness.

"Excellent! Your aid shall be an excellent addition in establishing a beachhead. Our fleet have detected a suitable position to send down our forces, but we may encounter a small enemy defensive force entrenched in key locations."

"Rebels, general? Then they shall burn with our righteous flames! Burning glory!" shouted the Canoness.

* * *

><p><strong>High-Orbit <strong>

**Chaos Dauntless-class Light Cruiser '****_Howl of Skulls_****'**

"Well, this will be the first time that you can show off your crude armor since your change, General Vegin," said Lilgath as he looked over his Daemonic Chainaxe. "And I have the 'pleasure' of using the likes of you in battle."

Lilgath's tone clearly indicated his great distaste for Vegin and his men, or at least the rotting form that filled the inside of those crude Power Armors. Although others of Judanus' new armored infantry section remained mostly human, General Vegin and the handful of the original versions had to be subjected to Nurgle's blessings because the armors could not compensate enough to keep them alive in intense combat.

The new versions of that crude armor had been modified by the Warpsmiths to function a little better in providing strength and toughness while keeping it cheap. Created only through the machine that fabricated the key segments of the armor, these 'CMC-405' armors were always half-finished when coming out of that damnable machine. Upon acquiring Warpsmiths into his Warband, Judanus had discovered that the machine was damaged and could only create semi-complete armors, missing most of the armor plates across the torso, and certainly without several pieces such as the two arms.

Still, it was better than the Flak Armor worn by the Guardsmen, and the suit still provided extra strength for the wearer. Weapons had to be made and fitted on to the systems of the armor, and Judanus opted for a pair of razor-sharp claws or for the wearer to wield a bolter or a heavy stubber. Though nowhere as powerful as the Power Armors of the Astartes, these suits still empowered the wears to tear through Imperial Guard squads with ease.

"I still cannot believe that these crude things have pieces of superior technology when I can crush through that chest plate with my fist alone," mutter Lilgath as he looked at the elbow joints of his own armor.

There were indeed far more sophisticated technology from the scant frame that the ancient machine template produced, which included the elbow joint servos. It was worse because the machine produced the layered artificial muscle-emulator that simulated the works of human triceps, but failed to produce the rest of the arms. Legs were in similar situation as well. The groin area and the hip joints came out half-done, but the legs were missing except for the left shin and right toes. It as if the machine had corrupted template that it could not fabricate the whole armor.

Of course, the ancient rogue Magos had done his work trying to compensate such shortcomings, and that had culminated in the armors worn by General Vegin and his men. Those armors were even less impressive than the bits spat out by the machine template. The rogue Magos had scavenged what he could from the pieces and turned it into a pale imitation of Astartes Power Armor, thus failing both in fluidity of motion and in toughness required in the intense battles of this hopeless era.

Lilgath looked down at the planet below, knowing that Judanus wanted him to attack the planet. He was to track the traces of the Zerg on the planet. Judanus alluded that the rebellion below was actually not the doing of a Chaos Cult but something else, possibly the Zerg. The idea was a strange one. As far as Lilgath was concerned, the Zerg were mindless beasts of hunger that devoured entire worlds.

"We are ready to slaughter. You stand there and do nothing."

Lilgath turned at the voice, and he saw one of his Khorne Berserkers stepping up in impatience.

"Do not speak to me unless I demand you an answer, or your skull shall decorate Khorne's throne. You shall have your fight soon enough, witless cur."

The Berserker growled, but Lilgath was having none of it. With a sudden burst of speed, the corrupted Apothecary narrowed the distance between him and the Berserker, and drove the Daemonic Chainaxe into the neck of the challenger.

Brrrrrr! Krrraack!

Head came off and rolled to the side.

"Anyone else?"

Remaining fifty or so Berserkers did not move but to bow their heads, while the one-hundred strong Nurglites inside the cruder CMC armor oozed more pus.

"Good... Now, we have more than just the rebels, however. Loyalist dogs of the False Emperor will come and the fodder guards will land as well. We shall have a glorious war..." muttered Lilgath.

The door to the chamber opened. A sorcerer in Thousand Sons coloring entered.

"Lord Lilgath, the landing vessels are ready."

"Very good, sorcerer. To war!"

* * *

><p><strong>Hive World Fordia<strong>

**North Rendia - Near Hive City Perodia [Loyal]**

Colonel Naricos watched from his command tower over the wilderness before him. His fortification and the careful watch of his men held back the oppressed slave armies of Perodian Hive PDF. Naricos had once been a part of the planetary PDF as a Lieutenant, but he was quick to accept the new order of his world. His promotion came quickly and he rose through ranks as the planet's cities began to fight each other. The Arbites came to disrupt the revolution, but the liberation of the oppressed people could not be stopped.

"You know, I still remember that moment. That moment when I drove my chainsword into the back of that Arbites Judge just as he was firing his bolt pistol upon my men," said Naricos as he sipped the strong alcohol drink.

He was speaking to a female officer who came behind him.

"Such bravery and courage! You are truly an exemplar to all the officers, colonel," replied the woman, as she took off her hat.

"It wasn't just to save my men. It was a moment of unimaginable thrill. I killed an officer of the Imperium, and I drove that chainsword through his body with all the rage that boiled within me. I felt every injustice, every act of oppression that the Imperium has imposed upon our world. I drove that rage into him, and he bled like a pig."

The woman slowly unbuttoned her uniform, taking just moments to sip her own drink.

"I was there among those officers watching as the council deliberated on the formation of our glorious Liberation Alliance. I felt pride as I led my men against the forces of other Hive Cities. They fell like wheat before scythe!" exclaimed Naricos as he continued to stare at the dusk setting over the loyalist Hive City in the distance.

"They could not stand against the combined might of the nine Hive Cities, and we are from Fordia itself. Our city produces so many weapons and armors that no slave armies of Imperium or the rebel cities could stand against us, colonel. I was proud to serve you during those times," whispered the woman as she took off her uniform placed it on the plushy sofa.

The man took another sip.

"We eventually inducted seven more Hives to our cause, but these four so called 'loyalists' stand defiantly with their treachery against their own people. Can they not see that the time of Imperial oppression is over?" asked the colonel even as the woman slowly slid her trousers down to her ankle.

He did not even pause to ogle her increasing nakedness.

"Yet, here we are... As soon as my allies in the council provide me with the mighty weapons of our Merican ancestors, I shall crush the pitiful defenders of this city and take it as my own."

"You shall be a kingdom unto yourself," whispered the naked woman as she began to unbutton Naricos' uniform from behind.

"And you shall me my queen, major Jilla."

She smiled as he turned his gaze from the glittering city in the fading daylight to kiss her.

"We are almost ready, my love. Our three Leman Russ tanks are ready as ever, and the sixteen 'Pushing' tanks are well-stocked with munition and operators. As soon as the artillery pieces arrive from the ancient factories of our ancestors, we shall bombard the loyalists to submission," she whispered as the colonel took of his trousers.

He looked up for a moment with pride in his eyes.

"Look what we have, Jilla. The Pushing tanks are fantastic work. To know that our Mercian ancestors who came to this world brought with them such knowledge. The Tech-Sorcerers too, have done their ancestors proud. The forgotten factoriums are back in operation, and once we take Perodia, I shall have a bargaining chip to deal directly with the Tech-Sorcerers," said Naricos with force as he roughly grabbed Jilla's breasts. "Once I deliver all the Tech Priests of the Mechanicus to the Cabal of Tech-Sorcerers, they will support me and reactivate the factorium beneath Perodia."

"The mythic 'Exas' land fortress?" asked Jillas she moaned.

"It's not so mythic, my love. They discovered the two Exas in the depth of Jadon Hills. The treads and engines of those two were ruined beyond the skills of the Tech-Sorcerers to repair, but even set upon the hills like two giant walls of steel and guns," he shuddered both from the memory and from Jilla reaching down his body. "They were mighty, my love. If I could have but three such mighty vehicles in operation, I can become the new master of the Liberation Alliance."

"You would become the most powerful man on this planet."

Jilla twinkled her eyes as Naricos buried his head to her breasts. Too busy sating his carnal urges, he had utterly failed to see the gleam of purple light in her eyes.

"Yes, I will, my love. I shall be the emperor of this world and bring my people to a glorious future! Imagine thousands of Pushing tanks rolling across the planets of the Imperium, and men armed with the powerful Scarred Rifles and hunting down the Imperial dogs."

"But you know that Imperials have sent their fleets."

Naricos scoffed.

"They cannot land their ships on our world. The ancient weapons systems scattered across the planet are now under our control. I have seen the giant 'New-Kular' missiles, and they shall destroy large ship that seeks to land," answered Naricos.

"They can still teleport or send smaller landing ships," said Jilla as she moved down his body.

Moaning in pleasure and witlessly answering all of Jilla questions, Naricos smiled.

"Do not worry, darling Jilla. You just worry about leading your 2nd Company and your tanks to crush their armies. Perodia will not stand idly by as our artillery pieces arrive. Now... that's good... Keep going."

* * *

><p><strong>Hive World Fordia<strong>

**Vrendis Peninsula - Between Hive City Nuyok [Loyal] & Hive City Waldon [Liberation Alliance]**

Lori Wilkins fired her sub-par lasgun at the armored rebel. Even as the smell of something burning filled her nostril, the orange beam struck the man in the chest, but the chest armor was the thickest of their armor. Too busy to notice the beam strike his chest, the soldier almost crazy in his fervor fought his most immediate enemy.

Blood and guts splattered all over the soldier's fatigues, perhaps cooling the sizzling dent made by Lori's lasgun shot. They looked so different, she thought. Though the shoulder pieces and other bits were same as Imperial Guard issue Flak Armor, the chest armor of the rebels were different.

What the rebels of the Fordian Hive wore looked much more safe than the thin maroon-colored armor that foisted upon her. Enemies' armors were tougher and they did not get penetrated by a single beam of the lasgun. She had seen many of her former friends among the conscript squads finding their armor unable to stop the bullets of the rebel guns.

She trembled but her fear of the Commissar not far behind her was greater. The insane man in the black trench coat executed three of conscripts within the first hour of the assemblage. Those glaring eyes terrified Lori's seventeen year-old heart and soul. She did not wish to die. She had so much to live for.

She bit her lips and fired again, and the enemy soldier finally noticed her after finishing off another loyalist conscript with his Scarred Rifle, another weapon of mysterious origins. Those bullets were too powerful. Lori had seen other conscripts with holes in their chest armor with blood spurting out of them.

The soldier was wearing a helmet too, and it was crude metal helmet but the mask was the really scary bit. All of the enemy's masks had those eyes. Round and shimmering in blue, and that scared her. They looked so inhuman and yet so human at the same time.

The bark of the Commissar's laspistol woke her from her moment of terror as she squeezed the trigger again. She was not alone though. Boli Larrson and Wilem Barlet were beside her. They were young boys, just a couple of years younger than her but like all Fordian men, they were tough boys.

Lori was tough too, but her slender and beautiful figure could not be denied. She was once a nobility, but having escaped from her own Hive City with nothing to prove her identity, she was sent to a camp where she saw the desperate and destitute barely surviving, and constantly conscripted away to fight.

She and the two boys fired their lasguns again and again until the man in front of them fell. He came so close, and the smell of blood cooked by the laser made her sick again. She smelt it all the time and everywhere, but never this close.

Lori looked around, and much to her dismay, saw Boli slowly sliding down the dirt trench wall with half of his face missing. The man had fired his gun at Boli even as he went down, and the helmet was of no use. Tears filled her eyes in deep sadness, but she knew that her fate would not deviate too much from Boli's ignoble end.

More enemy soldiers were climbing over the dirt mounds made by the artillery strikes. A charred and warped remains of a vehicle provided them with cover as the loyalists also had an influx of soldiers. More conscripts and several veteran soldiers jumped down into the trench beside her.

"You alright, girly?" asked a man.

The soldier looked like a veteran. His armor saw many actions, and scars across his face and clothes told a long story. Lori nodded.

"Well, get your gun ready. More of 'em are comin', and I wouldn't wanna be frozen stiff with Bulldog going crazy."

Lori looked over at where he was pointing at. There was a new Commissar who was obviously senior to the one attached to the conscript battalion. Commissar Synthia 'Bulldog' was a middle-aged woman of fearsome reputation.

Bullets raked above her head and the man grabbed her and pulled her down. She huffed in sudden panic attack. She knew she was going to die. There were simply too many enemies. Lori pulled out the magazine-battery of her lasgun and replaced it. The lasgun vibrated slightly as more power was fed to it.

"Do not save the gun's charge, little one. I don't think we are going to make it out alive," said the veteran soldier as he hefted his Plasma Gun and patted down his combat knife.

Lori nodded, and set the charge of her lasgun to maximum. It shuddered in her hands and felt warm. That warmth somehow comforted her. Next to her, young Wilem picked up the lasgun from Boli since Wilem's gun had a large crack on its side from where two bullets hit.

Lori looked around and saw that barely three squads of men remained, most of them conscripts. Officers were all gone except Commissar Bulldog and her Junior Commissar, and they were also preparing for a final attack. On the other hand, the enemy had brought tanks.

Two of the infamous Pushing tanks of the Liberation Alliance showed their faces. The two heavy stubbers on each tank fired even as their turret slowly turned. There were a hundred of their foot soldiers, and Lori could see dozens of their Lawmen.

Lawmen were the infamous tank-hunters of the Liberation Alliance. During her first battle not two weeks ago, she had seen seven Lawmen used their shoulder mounted weapon to strike down a Chimera. It was like one of those missile launchers Lori had seen in the data records in her father's library.

The launchers called the 'Law' were not particularly powerful, but they were powerful enough to take down loyalist vehicles, against which the loyalist armies did not have any counters. Weapons and munitions were scarce for the loyalists, and only the lasguns were supplied just enough for them to carry on the war.

A bullet scraping off her helmet brought her mind back, even as the enemies in the distance fired at the loyalists. They were loud and Lori could not block her ears. The deafening sounds of cannons firing and men dying were too much. Still she squeezed the trigger.

The veteran soldier next to her fired his Plasma Gun again and again. The first shot went wide, missing his original target but hitting the one behind. The plasma cooked off the right arm of the rebel soldier, but the veteran kept firing.

Then Lori saw one of the Pushing tanks turning the turret toward the veteran. With a sudden strength and unknown reason, she jumped and knocked the man out of the way just as the cannon shell zoomed over them.

"Thanks kid."

"No problem," replied Lori.

"So, you do speak."

Now that she looked closer, the man was young. Not in his teens, but barely an adult, yet so weathered by this war.

"I didn't have much to talk about."

"No time for chat, anyhow," said he, and he stood up and fired off his Plasma Gun.

As Lori tried to stand back up, she saw something.

"What's that?" whispered Lori.

BOOM! BOOM!

Two massive things in white with black and gold trims had landed in the middle of the battlefield, killing at least a dozen rebel soldiers.

Then its doors opened. From the pods came giants. Taller than any man Lori has ever seen, these giants were clad in massive armors and carrying large guns. There were fifteen of them in total, five of them clad in lighter armor and wearing a dirt-colored cloak.

The ten armored warriors turned their guns upon the rebels. The bark of their guns shook the very core of Lori's little mind. She had seen the image of such warriors before, and she knew them.

"Astartes... They are the holy Space Marines..." she whispered.

"What did you say?" asked the veteran soldier.

"They are the Adeptus Astartes... the legendary Space Marines... I've only seen few pictures of them... but to meet them in reality..."

"Huh... tough guys then?"

"Very."

"Good!" said the veteran soldier.

The Space Marines pushed forward with their mighty bolters and Lori saw the sparks upon their armor as the rebels returned fire. Nearly two hundred rebels turned their attention toward the ten Space Marines formed up in a line.

Rebel soldiers took to their cover behind pieces of fallen buildings and remains of vehicles, knowing that they could not stand a chance against Space Marines in direct confrontation. Yet, the Space Marines were accurate. Each burst of their large guns tore open a soldier and not even their thick chest armor could withstand the boltgun rounds.

Several Lawmen climbed aboard the blackened form of Leman Russ that had been destroyed several months ago on this battlefield. Four of them carried their Law while two had their Scarred Rifles. Riflemen fired their bullets in cover fire while the Lawmen aimed their weapons. The Space Marines were too busy slaughtering a squad of soldiers in a crater.

The Space Marine Sergeant was personally cutting through the bodies of men with his chainsword while another Space Marine was dashing the brains out of a rifleman. Lori was about to shout to the Space Marines when the leading Lawman's head exploded.

Surprised, Lori looked around when the veteran soldier pointed at the five smaller Space Marines in cloaks sitting themselves atop the dirt mound behind the trench and one of them pointing a long rifle at the Lawmen. Another cloaked Astartes was carrying a large gun.

"That's the Heavy Bolter, little girl. You must have seen it before," muttered the veteran as he helped Lori climb out of the trench to join the handful of conscripts charging at the enemy.

"I've seen them on the ground before, and carried by two men, but he is holding the thing just with two hands," uttered Lori in awe.

"It's a frightening to see one man having such strength. I can't wait to see what other can do."

The Heavy Bolter sprayed fire and death as the Lawmen could only squeeze out one shot from that position. The Law spewed a little fiery missile that flew toward a Space Marine. The Astartes was busy burying his combat knife into the skull of a rebel rifleman with his right hand and cracking the neck of another rebel with his left hand.

The Astartes must have noticed the flying missile because he seemed to shrug his left shoulder just as the Law's missile struck him. The missile must have been aimed at his head, but the massive pauldron seemingly useless and cumbersome at first took the damage.

The following missile strike from another cloaked Astartes finally shredded those who climbed aboard the broken Leman Russ. Lori and the veteran soldier had finally joined the rest of the conscripts as their paltry handful charged across the blasted landscape and fired more lasguns at the wounded rebels.

The skirmish was intense. Every rebel soldier crowded the Space Marines, shooting from everywhere and daring to fight the Space Marines. When guns were not effective, the rebels lunged in with long knives. Space Marines, having spent their munitions, they turned to their own combat knife and bolt pistols tucked upon his belt.

Lori saw it all. She saw the blood and broken bones. She heard and zealous shouts of the Astartes and the screams of the heretics. She saw one of the Astartes punch a rebel in the face before grabbing the bleeding face and turning it upside down. The horrible cracking of the face and the neck was silenced by the din of war.

Within minutes, the fight was over. The enemy tanks were ruined by the quick intervention of the five cloak-clad Astartes and their heavy weapons while the enemy infantry finally broke and fell away like waves. As Lori slumped down on the ground around the Commissar Bulldog as she praised the Emperor for their victory, Lori could not help but watch as Space Marines set up some sort of a beacon and began teleporting more Space Marines.

Soon, they were reinforced by a new battalion of conscripts and better-trained militia forces from Nuyok. A base camp of tents and sandbags were set up while a cadre of Servitors following an Enginseer began constructing one of the field barracks.

Lori and other soldiers were 'asked' to 'volunteer' in their entirety to aid in the construction. Even as she carried bags of sand and crates of bricks, she saw massive flying vehicles carrying entire structures down from the skies. Whole squads of Space Marines roamed the fields so close to the Hive City of Nuyok, while the city began to ferry more and more resources to the new base.

Within days, walls of ferrocrete as tall as a Space Marine were set up in large segregated blocks with entrances just big enough for a tank to move through. Battlements of ferrocrete and metal were set up in key places with militia from Nuyok manning them with a Multi-laser set upon a tripod. Lori was also assigned along with Wilem and the veteran soldier Jon Mac, who became the sergeant of her 12-men strong conscript squad.

Jon and Lori's squad was given the post near the north west corner of the fortress compound. They were in charge of a large tower, taller than the ones at the gates of the compound but narrower. Jon divided his squad in two, and made Lori his corporal.

They took half-day shifts to man the three-story tower, one soldier always behind the Multi-laser while another with a binocular to watch the surroundings, and the four remaining soldiers would patrol the nearby walls in pairs.

As more days passed, Lori saw the Space Marines go forth from the compound and return bloodied and wounded but always victorious. Cities after cities fell, or so the rumor was, but there were always casualties among the militia seconded to the Space Marines in each mission they undertook.

Lori was content, however. She liked how it was peaceful, much more so than any time in the last few years. Also, she liked spending some time with Jon each day. As his corporal, she met with him an hour at the end of each shift to exchange any reports of their watch.

She was seventeen, and in her heart Jon began to grow fondly. He was twenty-seven, fully ten years older than her, but he behaved so maturely and gently at the same time. There was a kind of sorrow in his eyes, and she felt her heart flutter every time she met his gaze.

They shared a mutual fondness for each other, and soon they were in love, or as much as such things could bloom on a planet covered in war. She lay with him the day before their squad was reassigned to garrison a remote fortress near the Silorian Foothills just beyond the Hive City Fili, the newest conquest of the Space Marines.

Jon and Lori grew closer even as they were assigned eight new members to their squads and were sent over to a new compound. Jon became a Master Sergeant, and Lori was made a sergeant. Still, they were together as Lori's squad became Jon's command squad.

Jon was in charge of that small outpost. It was a single bunker and a small 2-story tower surrounded by low brick walls. New weapons were provided for Jon's command squad, given the remoteness of his post. Lori picked a second-hand Hellgun that had seen some action. Jon had to relinquish his Plasma Gun to Wilem, now Lori's corporal, and he had to use a chainsword and a Hellpistol as both a sign of his authority and as a melee weapon.

Lori felt safer with those new weapons. It was not like when she only had a single sub-par lasgun to fight against overwhelming enemies. She had her Hellgun, Wilem had his Plasma Gun, four of her original squadmates had Hellguns too, and a flamer and two grenade launchers were assigned to her squad.

Besides, the bunker came with two Multi-lasers and the tower had a single belt-fed boltgun on a tripod. Jon commanded four squads including Lori's squad, so that was forty soldiers to defend a single outpost. It was not too shabby.

Perhaps it was that sense of relief or that her lover Jon was nearby, because Lori began to lose that silent brooding demeanor. Her original bright personality began to really shine among men, cheering them up.

It was all good.

-**Well, that sounded very nice.**-

Lori jumped out of her cot in surprise with her knife in her hand. There was no one. It was the whisper in her dreams, that tiny whisper that always scratched her mind when she dreamed.

"I haven't heard voices in years..." muttered Lori as she went back to her cot.

She began to drift back to sleep.

-**Whispers, but I am not like the others... am I?**-

It was a female's voice, and clearer than any garbled whispers her mind weathered over the years. Lori knew how to deal with it. She closed her eyes, slowly breathed out and imagined a massive solid wall of gleaming gold and black iron protecting her. Space Marines, their images burned into her mind from her encounters, began to appear and manned the wall with their fearsome weapons.

Like playing with her imaginary friend, she built herself an army of Space Marines in her mind to protect her in her dreams. In the distance, there were other voices, but soft and too far. There was a presence nearby, and she felt it. The wall vibrated as something came closer.

-**Oh, let me in... Lori. I won't hurt you,**- said the voice, but Lori had never trusted such voices.

-_Who are you girl?_- asked another voice.

The second voice was distant like other but stronger, disciplined and firm. It was a man. There was a hint of harsh wisdom in his voice.

"Go away, voices. I have Space Marines here... They will protect me," whispered Lori as she tightened the defenses of her mind's wall.

-_That is good, young one. Keep it closed. Keep it safe. Remember, an open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded,_- said the man's voice, his gaze reaching from far.

-**Space Marines? You cannot stop us with Space Marines,**- said the female voice so strong that she could almost hear it physically.

-_You are a psyker... undiscovered by the Inquisition. How you have managed to evade capture is beyond me, but you must listen. Do not give in to the voices. There are horrors beyond that veil._-

The man did not seem to notice the female's voice.

-**He has no idea what you are, Lori. He will never understand. Jon certainly won't.**-

The female seem to know the man though.

"Both of you, stop. I don't want to hear it!" whispered Lori.

-_Both? Who else is talking to you, girl?_- asked the man.

"The woman... She is... not human."

-**Oh, you are good,**- chuckled the woman.

-_An alien or a daemon?_-

"I don't know."

-_Show yourself, witch! Who are you?_- demanded the man, but not at Lori.

Two images flashed before her mind. A woman, human and yet not human at the same time. There were wings behind her, but the feathers of light was not like that of a sun but dark light glittering in purple. The man was a Space Marine, towering over mortals and fire burning in his eyes.

-**Well, I am your mission, Librarian. Your Inquisitor seeks me even now,**- said the woman, but the man could not see or hear her.

-_Show yourself... I feel your presence,_- declared the Space Marine.

**BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!**

A booming voice rang across her mind, and a skull-splitting headache rocked Lori. She spasmed in her cot as the visions of blood, guts and horrible mutilation flashed before her mind. The color red began to invade her mind. The wall of gold and iron held but they shook.

-**Oh, the forces of Chaos comes, Lori... You have heard the whispers... They know you... They wish to tear your mind apart. They will invade your soul and control you. Imagine! Watching helplessly in your own body as you gut your lover and drag out his heart. They will make you do that... but I can help you. I can give the strength to be your own person. Just let me in,**- said the woman.

-_Mmmmm... Chaos... The Warp trembles. You are a powerful psyker, girl. Who are you and where are you? You must not give in to the blood. It will call only for more blood, and if you surrender to that blood-lust, you shall be responsible for bringing ruination upon all things. Hold fast!_- said the man.

**KILL! MAIM! MUTILATE! SKULLS! SKULLS! MORE SKULLS FOR KHORNE! MORE BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!**

The red began to fade but the drum of war in her mind remained. The demand for blood echoed across the planet.

* * *

><p><strong>Vrendis Peninsula<strong>

**White Hawks Fortress**

Epistolary Baumhauer of the White Hawks gritted his teeth as drops of sweat fell from his eyebrows.

"Brother?" asked a fellow Librarian.

Baumhauer groaned as he opened his eyes. In front of him were two Lexicanums under his tutelage.

"Do you not hear it, brothers?" questioned the Epistolary to the two lesser Librarians.

"Hear?"

"The call of blood. Chaos is here, brothers, and they bring with them... ruination," muttered Baumhauer.

"We felt throbbing in the Warp, but did not know and did not wish to investigate," said one of the Lexicanums.

Baumhauer nodded in approval.

"Indeed, brother Armbrüster. You are yet to be assigned your Psychic Hoods, and it would be premature to delve into the Warp unless you are properly readied for it."

"Should we inform Captain Jaeger and the Inquisitor? The presence of Chaos forces would be detrimental to our campaign," said Lexicanum Armbrüster.

Baumhauer stood up.

"Already our clash against fellow Imperial forces have hindered our progress severely. Additional trouble may make our campaign difficult but not impossible. Once our Captain succeeds in his negotiation with the Imperial Guards, we shall be a united force against the rebels, xenos and the forces of Chaos," declared the Epistolary.

The senior Libarian moved to the side of the meditation chamber. He rearmed himself with his Force Axe and Stormbolter, and put the Rosarius back around his neck.

"What is it, Lord Epistolary?" asked Armbrüster.

"Should we prepare for battle?" asked the other Lexicanum, Autenburg.

"Maybe... I will speak to Captain now," answered Baumhauer.

"He has already departed, sir."

Baumhauer groaned. He needed to search and locate the female psyker whose nascent abilities were waking. If she was to be corrupted by the raw energies of the Warp, she could cover the planet in a Warp Storm. She was so strong, and there were others who sought her out. There was certainly a female presence hinted by the girl.

"Stay here... I have something that must be done."

"Yes, my lord."

Baumhauer hurried stepped out from the giant facility that contained relics of the chapter. He headed toward the mobile headquarters.

"Lord Librarian," greeted Sergeant Aust of the Tenth Company.

"Sergeant, I need to see the Inquisitor. Did he leave with the Captain?" asked Baumhauer.

"Yes, sir. Their Thunderhawk left twenty minutes ago," answered the sergeant.

Baumhauer would have kicked himself for being in meditation too long. Still, he needed some escorts just in case there was a trouble.

"Is your squad ready to move out?"

"My squad, sir? Yes, sir. We are always ready!" replied the Scout Sergeant.

"Prepare the Thunderhawk Tertius for take off."

"Yes, sir."

The Scout Sergeant left the HQ to gather his men and prepare for the mission. Baumhauer was not done. He entered the central command, where two Tactical Sergeants stayed.

"Lord Baumhauer, I thought you were mediating," exclaimed the Veteran Sergeant Beringer, the one of the most senior of Jaeger's sergeants.

"Sergeants, I would require two squads to escort me to a critical mission to deny a strategic resource to the enemy. There is a psyker whose abilities are awakening. She is powerful and young, and there is a threat of predation from the Warp, and a strange possibly alien attempt at her soul," explained Baumhauer. "If she falls into their hands, it could become complicated."

The sergeants realized what he was talking about.

"Is there a threat of Chaos?" asked Sergeant Freund 'Ironslayer', whose fame rose from the impressive tank kills his squad has made in the last four decades of action.

"I have been sensing greater pressure in the Warp around the planet. I think there is a possibility of danger here. I rather not give the Great Enemy any chance to manifest into reality here," replied Baumhauer.

"We certainly do not want to repeat the disaster at Orpedia Tertius. That daemon was very tough. I still enjoyed bursting its eyeball with my Plasma Pistol," chuckled Beringer with a dark overtone.

Baumhauer realized that it was a question in disguise.

"If this girl falls to the dark whispers of the other side, I assure you that you may get to enjoy such action once more."

Beringer growled as he looked down at his bionic arm carefully and artistically carved metal arm. It was a relic too, and recorded to be forged by Ferrus Manus himself. The White Hawks had discovered it from a planet under siege by the Orks. Orks had cracked open a tomb of an Iron Hand Legionnaire from the Horus Heresy-era. That was almost three centuries ago, and from among the many fallen Iron Hands of old, one such artifact had been recovered. Beringer, as former First Company Veteran before the injury, he was now in possession of such ancient and powerful mechanical arm.

"I will bring my squad to aid you, Librarian. Is this a mission to kill or to capture?" asked Beringer.

"Capture is our primary goal, but kill may be necessary if situation warrants," answered Baumhauer.

"I can afford my squad to your mission too, Librarian," said Freund.

"Thank you, brothers. Let's move out."

* * *

><p><strong>Hellastone Valley<strong>

**Near Imperial Guard / Sororita Fortress**

The valley was a dusty place. The mighty brown cliffs on both side of the valley looked majestic as the wind blew dust across the flatland in between. There, amid the dust storm gathering across the empty plain of that dusty place, a Thunderhawk was landing.

In the distance a mighty cathedral in bright blue draped in gold and the massive Imperial Guard headquarter structure surrounded by dozens of both Sororitas base and Imperial Guard base. Set upon a low mesa the base was accessed by a series ramps connected to the defensive trenches and multiple segments of walls and towers. It was an impressive defensive formations, with five Basilisks batteries within the base itself and four on the top of the cliffs, and there were at least a dozen Hydra batteries against enemy air strikes.

The lone Thunderhawk landed some distance away from the edge of the defensive trenches where it was met by a Rhino and four Chimeras. From the Rhino exited an Inquisitor of the Ordos Hereticus, a Sororitas Canoness and their escorts. The Chimeras also unloaded their cargo that included two Storm Trooper squads and two Imperial Guardsmen squad who escorted the Imperial Guard general.

The Thunderhawk unloaded Captain Jaeger, Watch-Captain Tennfjord and the Inquisitor Lord Zacaros of Ordo Xenos. They brought with them a single combat squad of Tactical Marines as escorts, but they were not heavily armed for combat, as none of them believed that they would be assailed by other servants of the Emperor. The escorts were needed because the rebels have recently began to operate two types of atmospheric aircraft, and though a Thunderhawk could take down many, the rebels employed their aircrafts in great numbers. Should the Thunderhawk crash, it was always better to have some Battle Brothers on your side.

"You seem to have brought quite a retinue, Inquisitor. I assumed this was a parley in good faith," said Zacaros as the leadership of the two Imperial forces closed together.

Zacaros was a little surprised at how his counterpart recognized him.

"Ah... Lord Zacaros of Ordo Xenos. I know of you. Your works in handling the heretical xenos of Sintilan system was inspiring," replied Maldor.

"I wish I could say the same, but..."

"I am Inquisitor Maldor of Ordo Hereticus. My work usually takes me near the Maelstrom, and there is no reason that you should have heard of me," replied Maldor with a small smile.

"It is good to meet a fellow Inquisitor, but I wish that our meeting would have been on a different circumstances."

"I agree, Lord Zacaros. However, our work in rooting out the heretics that threatens to plunge the entirety of the Zasphor sector into a full fledged rebellion is of paramount concern. We have found and disrupted the works of a dozen rebel cells inciting phoney claims of Imperial oppression of their worlds, and we have made links to this world," said Maldor.

Zacaros nodded in surprise. He did not know about other worlds with such links to the rebels on this world.

"And you've found this world already in turmoil. I suppose that makes sense... I must tell you, Maldor, that my works also found itself linked many sectors that has fallen silent across the Segmentum," explained Zacaros. "One of my Order's Inquisitors had been dispatched to a remote sector to investigate some xeno race. It was implied in his report that some sort of silence befell the whole sector as the xeno race began to infest the planets. Similar silence fell over a dozen sectors that we are aware of, and possibly more."

"Are you saying those same xenos are here?" asked Maldor.

"Maybe, Inquisitor. The communications to and from this planet and its surrounding sectors are getting more difficult. Eventually, we have tracked down the silence to this world. If we do not find the cause of this silence, the whole of the Horn Reach Expanse may become cut off from the Imperium."

Maldor nodded.

"Indeed, the situation is serious, and everything points to this world as the origin of the horrors. How should we deal with..."

"NO!"

In that moment, the two Inquisitor heard a short scream and turned their heads to see Captain Jaeger fall to his knees with a Power Knife stuck through his belly and Canoness Luria's Power Sword coming down to behead him.

* * *

><p>"General Roux, it is a pleasure to meet you in person. I've heard that you are an excellent tactician," said Captain Jaeger as he reached out to shake the general's hand.<p>

"It is an honor to meet a Space Marine Captain, my lord, despite our unfortunate disagreement."

"Indeed, general. With our Inquisitors talking, we may find a solution to benefit both of our expeditions."

Jaeger gestured to Tennfjord.

"This is Watch-Captain Tennfjord of the Deathwatch," introduced Jaeger.

"It is good to meet a soldier of your reputation, general. It would have been easier if you had just obeyed, but a man of your valor and experience has his honor to consider, I suppose," growled Tennfjord, revealing his fangs.

"It is of both my professionalism and at the request of the Inquisition that I have refused to hand over the command to your force, captains. I do not regret it now or ever."

"I assumed as much, general."

General Roux nodded, and he presented the Canoness, surrounded by her Battle Sisters.

"Captains, this is Canoness Luria of the Order of Azure Hearts. She has assisted the Inquisition in purging of many heresies," said the general.

"Canoness."

"Captain Jaeger, I presume."

"Yes."

They shook hands, but she did not let go.

"For your heresy, I hereby sentence you to death!"

"What?"

In her right hand was a Power Knife, brimming with disruptive powers upon its shorter blade, and it plunged itself into the soft part of the Astartes Power Armor's abdomen. Jaeger felt his guts churn as the Canoness twisted the blade and drove it up, cutting up his lungs and arteries.

"NO!" shouted Tennfjord as he drew his axe.

From behind Luria, the Sister of Battle drew their weapons. Two Melta Guns and two flamers and six bolters all pointed at the Space Marines. The five Tactical Marines all raised their weapons too, but before they could fire, massive explosions rocked the Thunderhawk.

"Earthshaker!" shouted the general in surprise.

He was not aware of ordering any attack against the Space Marines, but apparently, the Canoness was. She hefted her sword and beheaded Captain Jaeger in a smooth motion before lifting her Inferno Pistol and firing it at Captain Tennfjord.

The crackling energies of Tennfjord's Power Axe managed veer away the beam of agitated air molecules. Yet, even the mighty weapon of the Space Wolves could not deal with the intense heat of a Melta weapon, and the axe had melted away in defense of its master.

"You treasonous bitch! We have a parley!" roared Tennfjord.

"I do not parley with heretics, beast!" shouted Luria in return as the Space Marines of the White Hawks began to stand up again after being stunned by the exploding Thunderhawk.

"Gun them down, sisters. Let no heretic see the dying light of the day," ordered Luria.

"Canoness! What is this?" demanded Roux, but he flinched at the determined and crazed eyes of Luria.

"Are you a heretic too, general? My sisters will not show mercy to heretics!" said Luria before turning to the confused Guardsmen.

"These Space Marines are heretics, and you shall face the Emperor's justice if you do not train your guns upon these foul traitors! Shoot them, and finish their lives for the Emperor!"

The Inquisitor hurried over.

"What is this madness, Canoness Luria!" demanded Maldor.

"Inquisitor Maldor, are you part of this heresy as well? Do you consort with these traitors who seek to prevent our purging of other heretics and rebels? I know of rogue Inqusitiors and radicals, which are you?" asked the Canoness with dangerous undertone in her voice.

"What?"

"And you, the other Inquisitor... You will face the justice of the Emperor too, for lying about some xeno to suppress our righteous conquest of the heretics. Arrest them!"

Two of the Battle Sisters turned their guns on the Inquisitors.

"Stay this madness in the name of the Emperor!"

"Do not let a foul renegade blaspheme! Sisters, fire!" screamed Luria.

Bolters fired and Melta Guns unleashed death. Flamers swept over the wounded White Hawks while Tennfjord ran. His right arm was crippled, and he could not withstand the weapons of his enemies. He ran even as bolter shells bounced off his armor. He felt each of the damages upon his armor.

The two Inquisitors fell. Maldor in his lighter armor was torn to pieces while Zacaros managed to kill a Sister of Battle with his bolt pistol before the Melta Gun vaporized his belly.

"That Deathwatch has fled, my lady. Should we pursue?" asked a Battle Sister.

"No, let him go. He will die in the wilderness. Now, to purge our own house. Find the retinue of the rogue Inquisitor for interrogation and immediate execution. Also, see if you can salvage anything from this wreckage," ordered Luria before turning to Roux. "I hope you remain faithful and true to the cause of the Emperor."

"Of course, Canoness Luria," answered Roux in fear.

Never had he been so afraid. That crazed eyes made him terrified, and terrified his men too.

"Good. We shall conquer this world and purge in the name of the Emperor. Get your men ready and tell them about the traitors. We shall purge them too with fire and bolter. For the Emperor!" shouted Luria.

Yet, none had noticed the slight purple gleam in her eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>END OF CHAPTER 58<strong>


	59. Chapter 59 – Intermission Episode 6

**A**lright, here is the next chapter of the **Swarm of War**!

Things are well on their way with the intermission episodes. I am hoping to wrap this up by Episode 12, but that's just a hope at this point. The skeletal frame of my plots and the actual chapters can be very different.

**A**lso, I would want you to know that I am quite well on my way with the '**Path to Godhood**', but I am stuck with a little something.

I actually need some help from someone who was or is in military or at least have actual expertise in modern military tactics and strategy.

So, if you wish to help defend the world against an invasion by a Chaos Lord, I would love a PM from you.

**A**nyway, enjoy the story!

**PS**: I will explain about the culture of Hive World Fordia in the next chapter as an extra, but some of you would have it figured it out already.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 59 – Intermission Episode 6<strong>

**Segmentum Obscurus**

**Zasphor Sector**

**Fordian Subsector**

**Hive World Fordia**

**Hellastone Dirtland**

Tennfjord the Stormfang, the Watch-Captain of the Deathwatch had been walking for hours trying to find his path out of the seemingly infinite stretch of semi-desert arid land that filled his vision. The armor indicated that his path was indeed southerly, but he could not be sure as to his exact location. Just as his long years of experience and his deep understanding countless tactics and strategies have taught him, he searched for a landmark to keep his bearings.

Behind him was another Space Marine, a White Hawk whose armor had been serious damaged bordering on complete cessation of functions. The younger Space Marine was wounded, but he was armed with a bolter, which was better armament than Tennfjord had just an hour ago. Tennfjord had initially thought the younger Space Marine to be a pursuer sent by the insane Canoness of the Adepta Sororitas, but it had turned out to be a wounded White Hawk.

"Can you keep going, Brother Lehmann? Your wounds are severe, and not even an Astartes physiology can save from death if you lose too much blood," Tennfjord said in concern.

Indeed, the young Space Marine was still bleeding, though not enough to leave a distinct trail but a skilled tracker would be able to locate them.

"My Larraman's Organ has been healed enough to function once more, Watch-Captain. The wounds have been staunched for the moment. However, I will require water to replenish blood I've lost," replied Lehmann.

Yet, they both knew the availability of water was scarce in this part of the planet. This was the western edge of the civilized segment of the planet.

"I believe once we reach those hills that border the vast south western desert of the continent, we can walk along the hills until we encounter the oasis that dot the outer edges of the desert."

Lehmann groaned as he hefted his bolter. His armor was rent and torn, and burn marks could be seen from his right side. When the treacherous Canoness beheaded Captain Jaeger, Lehmann had been on the side of the Thunderhawk as he was investigating a minor malfunction to the pair of Heavy Bolters. He had been the pilot, so it was his duty to report any problem to the holy Thunderhawk that he communed with. It had saved his life, but the shrapnel pieces had buried deep into his flesh even as the Earthshaker barrage inflicted massive damage to his armor.

He regained consciousness just as Canoness Luria and General Roux departed, leaving a single squad of Guardsmen to salvage from the corpses of the White Hawks. Lehmann was a Space Marine still, and even wounded and bleeding, he overpowered the squad of Guardsmen and headed toward where Tennjford had left, tracking the footprints. At the same time, Tennfjord found himself hiding among the rocks, seeking a way to return to the Space Marine base on the other side of the continent, but his axe had been obliterated and left with only a single bolt pistol, it was going to be difficult getting through the Imperial Guard defenses.

It was then that Lehmann had appeared, carrying his own Chainsword and a bolter. They argued for a moment before they realized the need to alert their brothers back in the Vrendis Peninsula.

"We must be wary, young one. I've been to this planet before, and to the desert over there. It is a dangerous place," explained Tennfjord. "There are creatures in the sand that can chew through the layers of a Power Armor with ease. They are assumed to be the original lifeforms that dominated this planet before the ancient humans of the Dark Age of Technology terraformed most of the sandy planet into a lush world."

"Then it appears that the ancient humans did not complete their job."

Tennfjord chuckled.

"Indeed. There are two types of sand creatures here and two only, but they are equally dangerous," Tennfjord explained as both Space Marines resumed course.

"Two species? How does an ecosystem manage that?" asked Lehmann.

"There are what the locals call 'Sand Grubs' and they are the basis of this ecosystem. They are small creatures no larger than our forearm and they form swarms of thousands. They are clad in very hard metallic chitin derived from the sand they consume. They are toothless things that appear harmless... at least before you encounter them."

The two Space Marine began to climb as the low hills began to dominate the landscape instead of flatland.

"I have seen foolish Guardsmen swept up by these Sand Grubs as they come out of the sand and drag the Guardman down into the sand and using their body, they grind the poor man into dust while sucking all moisture from the body. The trouble is that lasguns have little effect on their metallic shells, and they are quite fast. Flamers are equally useless, but psychic powers seem to fry them very easily."

"There must be more to this story, captain. How come you here?"

"It is a saga unto itself, young Hawk. I would love to tell you but this is a story of a great length and of private sort. I would not be the one to tell, lest it be a pride that blinds me."

"Then it is your tale, where you are the hero of it."

"If you refer to my captaincy among the Deathwatch, my heroics have very little to do with it."

"Still, we have only but time and sand as we move on through this terrain. Regale a story that I may deliver a saga told by a venerable wolf, and may the White Winds of Solistis carry your bravery to the ears of the Emperor."

Tennfjord knew a little about the White Hawks and their beliefs. He knew of their asteroid-based Fortress Monastery called the Solistis that was once a planet, now cracked up by a terrible earthquake.

"I was once a young wolf, and I had served my Chapter with honor. Yet, I felt things that remained unfulfilled. I had spent about a century as a wolf among the Space Wolves, but I was drafted among brothers on the battlefield of Ocrean V when I slew the Ork Mek who dominated the battle. An Inquisitor took notice of me as he had tracked the same Ork for two decades."

Lehmann looked back for a second, his eyes intent on the surroundings in case of enemy pursuers. As they took shelter between the rocky crack to avoid the hot midday sun, Tennfjord continued his story.

"I was given the choice by my Wolf Lord and I joined the Deathwatch. I had an innate sense of finding who the leader of a xeno race was. Even as a wolf, I had slain a Warboss among the Orks and an Archon of the Dark Eldar. The Dark Eldar are tricky foul lot, and I had once fought a sect of Dark Eldar pirates for two decades, and during that chase, I had been captured twice and slaughtered hundreds while losing many of my brothers," Tennfjord told his story.

"I have never actually met a Dark Eldar, or their filthy ilk, but I have heard of their torture-loving antics," said Lehmann.

"They are foul things. As a Deathwatch, we have made tenuous temporary alliances or truce with Craftworld Eldars on occasions when a Daemonfall is imminent or a massive Ork Waaagh! may be on the horizon. These Dark Eldars were nothing like their kin, though both are arrogant to a fault and both horrid races. The Dark Eldars are honor-less pirates that deserve nothing more than utter extermination," explained Tennfjord as he looked for the light at the end of the small cave they found in between the crack in the hillside.

Tennfjord began to tell of his quest against the Dark Eldar, sworn to his Wolf Lord. He had encountered a particular pirate sect, and he had slain their Succubus, resulting in the destruction of a significant number of Dark Eldar at the hands of the Space Wolves. As the leader of his Grey Hunter pack, Tennfjord broke through the defensive ranks of Dark Eldar forces again and again, taking the fight to their Archon.

However, an Archon was not so easy to kill, and the Dark Eldar pirate lord swore vengeance upon Tennfjord. Their conflict lasted two decades, during which Tennfjord and his pack traveled through the Warp far and wide. He was once captured by the Dark Eldar and was taken to their dark city in the hidden corner of the Webway, and was held captive for a week before escaping.

The second time he was captured, he slew the Haemonculus of the sect. He brought back the head of that foul creature to his Chapter, earning him the ascension into the rank of Long Fang at the young age of mere 78 years, with the Great Wolf's promise of the mantle of the vaunted Wolf Guard position for the head of the Archon. In fact, he achieved mere five years later, when his Great Company finally hounded the Dark Eldar pirates to a remote moon.

There, with his Wolf Lord wounded and defended by the Wolf Guards as the three Grotesques assailed, Tennfjord Stormfang blasted them apart with his Plasma Gun before throwing the overheating weapon into the ranks of a dozen Mandrakes who were scorched by the exploding Plasma Gun. Taking the initiative, Tennfjord rallied his pack to attack the Archon, eventually slaying him in personal combat, beheading the creature with a desperate swoop.

Lehmann marveled at the deeds of the old wolf. The wolf had a great memory, reciting every blow by blow and every wound he was inflicted and returned. Returned a hero, Tennfjord was made a Wolf Guard, although he was not granted a Terminator Armor. However, when he was asked to join the Deathwatch, Tennfjord chose to free himself from the pack that only had one other member remained.

Even as a Deathwatch, Tennfjord fought across the stars, killing Orks, Eldar, Necrons, Dark Eldar, the slime-species of Hjral, the reptilian race of V'tek, the powerful Isocraz Empire of the Isicorian species, and many more. He told the White Hawk of the acidic slimes of the Hjral race whose body absorbed any kinetic energy including bolter rounds. The Deathwatch set off the supervolcano beneath their main nest and drowned most of the race in lava. The V'tek whose raw strength easily overpowered a Space Marine were slaughtered with a bio-engineered virus. The twelve-systems of the Isocraz Empire of the humanoid Isicorians had many human slaves they farmed to be food, which angered the Deathwatch. Every world of Isocraz Empire were subjected to Exterminatus.

The story eventually ended up on Fordia, and the hunt for the Warboss Bilgurk, whose Meganobz tore through the ranks of Guardsmen fighting his Waaagh! The Deathwatch hunted him across fourteen sectors, eventually obliterating the Ork's fleet and stranding him on the deserts of Fordia.

"Was it you who had slain the Ork, captain?" asked Lehmann as they moved westward to avoid entering the desert.

"In fact, I was not the one to kill the Ork or his army. Orks died as we watched from our Thunderhawks and Valkyries. The desert killed them, or more specifically, the Sandfang Snakes that feed on the Sand Grubs killed the Orks."

"Sandfang Snakes?"

"They are the dangerous creatures. They have the ability to generate bio-plasma, and emit that through their teeth. Such rows of fangs can bite into the metallic chitin of Sand Grubs, and it was easy enough to chew through several thousand Orks," said Tennfjord as he leaped across a gap between the rocks.

"How many of these snakes were there?"

"No more than several hundred, we presumed, but knowing each snake is about five meters long and large enough to swallow an Ork Boy in a gulp, it was a tough fight. More than that, the Sandfang Snakes excrete special drops that attracts the Sand Grubs, and the last of the Orks were swept under by the swarms and dragged into the depth of the sandpits."

"Well, if that's the case, we were wise not to enter the desert," chuckled Lehmann as he peered down the low cliffs to the yellow soft sand below.

"I see an oasis over there. However, we must be careful. These areas are dominated by the local rebel group that names itself the Kingdom of Prandin, and they are the second most powerful and technologically advanced rebel group on this planet. Take caution, you are in no status to be in a protracted fight. If we battle, end it quickly and decisively," instructed Tennfjord.

"Yes, captain."

* * *

><p><strong>Hive City of Ankoridge – Northern Hive Coalition<strong>

-Canoness, my forces are ready. The 'Ironsides' are laying siege to the south western quadrant of the Hive with their heavy ordinance while the 'Steamrollers' are fighting their way into the tunnel-gates that connects the mining facilities to the southern quadrant,- explained General Roux, referring to the Zasphoran 251st Armored Regiment 'Ironsides' and the Zasphoran 101st Heavy Infantry Regiment 'Steamrollers'.

Canoness Luria listened to the vox channel relayed to her through an ornately decorated communication station set within her Command Rhino. Her command vehicle was a rare thing outside the reaches of Adeptus Astartes. A Damocles Command Rhino was used almost exclusively by the Adeptus Astartes in large engagement. The very existence of this vehicle in her hands indicated her position of power and status among the Imperials. As the Canoness Preceptor, soon to be elevated to Canoness Superior once the current one meets her demise, Luria had been battling the enemies of Imperium for decades without rest. Each day that passes without battle or prayer was a waste most dire, and she strove to kill at least one heretic a day, and she has kept her personal oath unbroken for almost thirty years. Therefore, her reputation as the slayer of heretics and traitors was great, and it was perhaps her reputation that kept General Roux in line.

"I see that your reputation was well founded. Despite the three attempts at pre-emptive attacks by the treasonous curs of that Hive City, you have managed to cripple their armored columns with minimal casualty as well as already laying siege to key sections of the enemy. I am impressed. I must say I was not quite comfortable with you maintaining your position and your head since we have gunned down the rogue Inquisitors, but I am glad that I did not behead you. Still, you should remind yourself that Lord Commissar Kaidon will not hesitate for a moment before he executes if you step even an inch toward heresy," said Luria to the hologram of Roux and Kaidon.

Roux gulped. He was a bold man of great courage. He has faced scores of battles, and some in most desperate situations. He had once faced a Chaos Lord who had taken a step toward ascension as a daemon, and fighting that monster was not as terrifying as dealing with the Canoness.

-Of course, Canoness. I would not think about betraying the Emperor even for a briefest moment. What are your orders?-

Luria paused as she peered at the printed map of the Hive City.

"I need to strike down the Bastion Gates to the west. It is a small fortification that can hold a thousand men in its barracks. It is also the start of the main roads that connects to the central spire. Bastion Gates and all twelve levels that the fortification is connected to. I also require the Delphian Sensorum Spire to be taken. With its powers, the rebel defenders can detect every move we make within the city walls. That Sensorum Spire is a primary target once we are within the city walls."

-I will dispatch my second company to breach and take the Bastion Gates. Their Sentinel strike teams and hardened infantry veterans will take the gates. I shall also field tanks and Chimeras along all twelve main routes of the spire-roads,- answered the general.

"What of the Delphian Sensorum? There are only two approaches to that spire from the ground, and the four lesser spires of approximately twenty levels block any armored vehicle to reach the Sensorum. From the schematics I have, there are no access to the Sensorum Spire on the first twenty levels of that structure. It's solid wall of plasteel-reinforced ferrocrete fifteen meters thick. No weapon you have can breach that unless you comprimise the safety of that structure, and that cannot be allowed," declared Luria.

-I understand that the Sensorum Spire and its precious technology must be secured. I have read the reports, Canoness. My men will capture it. Once the Zasphoran 101st enter through the tunnel access, they will find a way into that spire. I assume it will be well-defended?-

"Possibly, but have faith in the Emperor, general. They shall fall like wheat in storm, and the boots of your men will trample them without mercy."

-Yes, Canoness. Roux, out!-

Luria gazed into the map of the Hive City as her commanders awaited her orders. Although she was a Canoness Preceptor and commanded the 1000-strong force of her Preceptory, her order manned many Shrine Worlds and important places of the Ecclesiarchy. Indeed, she only really commanded perhaps one full Commandery on most campaigns. Even a force of two hundred Sisters of Battle often turned the tides of battle. However, this campaign was something Luria insisted that greater strength was needed in subduing the entire Horn Reach Expanse under proper guidance of the Imperial faith.

Now, she had brought forth three Commanderies, culminating into an army of six hundred Sisters and numerous vehicles. This had seriously drained manpower of the Ecclesiarchy throughout the region that her Order had been looking after, but all had simply assumed it to be Luria's power play. After all, a victory to secure the Horn Reach Expanse in the name of the Ecclesiarchy as the erupted rebellion is cut down quickly and decisively would certainly guarantee her ascension as the next Canoness Superior.

"Sisters, we must brave the height of these Hive Spires and strike a decisive blow to our enemies. These rebels are foes of the Emperor's righteous rule over the mankind. Make them pay for their sins, my dear sisters. Make them bleed for every heresy they have committed. Make them scream for every utterance of blasphemy. Make them suffer for each and every breath they take. Only upon the most excruciating of pains will they finally understand their sins," stated Luria as she placed her steely gaze upon the five Sisters Superior gathered before her.

The Hive Ankoridge was the leader of the three Hives that formed the Northern Hive Coalition, and against this city Luria had brought over one hundred fifty Sisters to the attack. She had already dispatched several squads to other missions, including keeping an eye on General Roux on the pretense of keeping him safe, but she still had four Battle Sisters squads and one Seraphim squad available for other missions.

"Sister Aria, I need your Seraphim squad to circumvent the defense tower 18, and its guards. The Heavy Stubbers will be difficult for the Guardsmen to charge through, but I will have the Commissars drive the penal troopers to distract the defenders in the tower while your squad breach through that gap that the Basilisks have made," commanded Luria indicating a large hole in the wall that opened up to a corridor inside the wall.

"Sisters Helin, Adra and Samana, I want your squads to tackle the defenders at the broken Gates of Bor. The gate was breached but minutes ago by the sacrifice of a hundred repenting heretics. We had strapped powerful explosives to their bodies and sent them in, causing enough impact to break the actual gate. Defenders will gather there like flies to open wound, and I want you to break through those defenses with extreme prejudice," ordered Luria, indicating the newest report from the field.

"Yes, Canoness."

The Seraphim and four Battle Sister squad leaders moved away from the shadow of the Rhino. Only one Sister Superior remained.

"Sister Rosa, I have a special mission for your squad."

"Command us, Canoness."

"I have chosen Hive Ankoridge first because of a reason. This city is one of the few places from which the Hives near the desert could received clean fresh water. Although each Hive is capable of maintaining its population through water recycling systems and technology, many of the cities in the arid regions had often relied on the fresh water supplied through the purification facility that melted the glaciers from the further north into usable form," explained the Canoness and she brought up the hologram of six massive pipes receiving slow-moving ebbs of ice and snow.

"Do you wish my squad to capture it? Consider it done!" declared Rosa.

"Not so easy, sister. Hive Ankoridge had received the support of several Hive Cities near the desert in return for water. That was one of the reasons that the Northern Hive Coalition had managed to survive among the power-hungry lords of different cities. Using fresh water as its bargaining chip, the Norther Hive Coalition had formed a tentative alliance with the Kingdom of Prandin, the Principality of Missip and the State of Texa. This grouping holds back the largest rebel group, the Liberation Alliance."

"If we control the water supply, we can break the alliances among the heretics."

"Indeed, sister. Fortunately, we have a possible means to achieve this and perhaps better."

"Better?"

Luria removed cloth from a box on the ground next to the Rhino and it revealed five large cylindrical containers.

"What are they?"

"I have recently been to a Forge World with strong ties of the Ecclesiarchy. I have been 'asked' to carry out population-wide test of a new 'Faith-Stimulant', a drug that will induce faith in those who had not deeply fallen into the predation of blasphemy," explained the Canoness to the surprised Rosa.

"I have never heard of such drug. How does it work? I've never heard of faith coerced through drug. Faith should come from within," exclaimed Rosa.

Luria chuckled.

"Of course it does, sister. I had my questions and outrage as well, but the Ecclesiarchy approves of its testing. While I do not believe it would generate true faith in our Emperor, it may help them to see the truth of the Emperor's divinity," said Luria, dissuading Rosa of her refusal.

"What do you want me to do?"

"I need your squad to capture the water purification facility, and inject the drug within into the water pipes exporting water to other cities."

Rosa eyed the containers, and then nodded.

"If it aids the designs of our Lord the Emperor, then my sisters and I will carry it out."

"Good."

* * *

><p><strong>Icethorn Valley<strong>

Rosa carefully stepped on the ferrocrete block that hid the massive adamantium-coated pipes big enough to fit a Rhino through. The terrain was treacherous. Sharp icicles of permafrost protruded at random intervals, and they were tough things built over centuries and compacted into something dangerous even to the Sisters of Battle in full armor. The nature of this planet's water and centuries of immense pressure turning the ice as tough as steel allowed the sharp edges of the winter's blades to scrape across the Power Armor. The damage was negligible but their mission required stealth until they had reached the Water Purification Facility, thus evading unwanted attention was paramount.

Her boots crushed small rocks and ice as she gently hopped down from the ledge, with one arm holding on to the edge of the block. The servo in her arm whined as the entire weight of her body and armor slowly descended. The ice covering the block below cracked with sharp sound as she dropped further three meters and landed cleanly.

"Sisters, we have a staircase from here. It is crude and wide, but it will service us nicely," said Rosa as she looked down the winding path.

Behind her came rest of her squad. Mina and Selia, both veterans of many battles followed Rosa and landed beside her with their bolters ready for any action. Lilian and Anna quickly followed behind with heavier landing due to the extra weight of the canisters that they carried. Claire, Alexa and Khloe also carried a canister each and armed themselves with bolters. Claire and Khloe had exchanged their usual flamer to the bolters of their sisters, Cora and Mariah. Now, Cora and Mariah carried flamers and brought up the rear while their bolters were in the hands of Claire and Khloe.

"We are near, sisters. See there? The small campfires lit by the blasphemous wretches who had rebelled against the Imperial dogma," Rosa said as she gestured toward the distant light as the light began to dim in the cold arctic region.

"We shall warm this weather by setting their heretical flesh aflame, Sister Rosa," declared young Cora who had just joined the squad barely three years ago.

"Indeed, Cora. Now, flamers to the front, and I shall lead the charge."

"We will follow," replied the squad in hushed chorus.

Rosa nodded and they walked down the wide steps down into the valley where massive glaciers were met by the ancient machinery of the first settlers. The day began to wane further into the night, and night was colder in the mountains. Their breaths formed mists that rose into the indigo sky and the campfire that indicated their destination began to look larger and brighter.

Yet, something did not feel right. Sister Rosa narrowed her eyes before gesturing her Sisters to the side.

"I believe we may be coming up on an ambush. Mina, Cora and Mariah are with me. Selia, take the others and go around the rocks."

"Yes, sister."

Selia and the five who carried the canisters of mysterious drug holstered their weapons and began to climb the mounds of man-sized rocks and ice stacked up like a wall next to them.

Rosa and the three continued on their path, and even as the last dim light began to disappear, Rosa thought she heard sounds. Breathing, and but of her own. Others of her squad were all wearing helmets, and their breaths could be silenced. These were ragged sound of others, and more than a handful. Internally whispering her prayers to the Emperor, Rosa unlocked her bolt pistol's safety lock, and clicked on the motor of her Chainsword.

"They spotted us! Fire!" shouted someone nearby.

It was a man's voice, and within seconds they heard the sounds of deafening staccato of gunfire.

She quickly raised her Chainsword and allowed the broad side of her melee weapon to shield her exposed face. Although a crude and basic force field generation was protecting her head from inside the thick collar around her armor's neck as both a symbol of her rank as a Sister Superior and as a protection against headshots. Many sisters who did not wear helmet unless needed were not afforded such luxury, and they had to often rely only on their faith, but Rosa had been a warrior of many wars and battles. She had been awarded one such device with her armor when her previous one broke under the assault of a Chaos Sorcerer she had personally slain.

Still, it was not an Iron Halo, and could not stop a direct hit, thus requiring Rosa to protect her face. She still watched though. She watched from corners of her eyes of her enemies in the wide slope before her. The paved road stretched for about two hundred meters before heading down another set of stone steps, while large rocks were placed in deceptively tactical places as a point for ambush. She also saw were the gun fires were coming from. Bullets were being bounced off her armor or being flattened against the toughness of her armor. Rosa quickly assessed that these rebels were using rather accurate and strong weapon as the impacts of each bullet was quite worrisome.

Yet, the bullets seemed like simple iron or steel tips, possibly with heavier element in the core but she doubted such thing. If the bullets had been coated in plasteel with may be a little tungsten alloy as a sharpened core, such attacks would have hurt her. She had seen many militias and PDF forces using autoguns loaded with such ammunition. Those could be dangerous in large enough numbers. Simple iron or steel tipped bullets simply did not have metallurgical prowess to hurt her through the blessing of the Power Armor.

The few seconds of her analysis and decision passed. The eighteen bullets that bounced off her armor within that first five seconds did not even dent her armor. She charged forward where five men in armor were seen as the large moon that rose early in the night cast ghostly pale light upon the attackers. Adrenaline pumped into ther brain and body, and everything seemed to slow for Rosa. She raised the bolter in her right hand and pressed the trigger. Even as a burst fire from one of the five attackers in the front shattered against her left shoulder pauldron, her own bolter returned the gesture.

"Die, heretic!" roared Cora, and Rosa heard her shout alone with the sound of fire.

"Feel my bolter's wrath!" screamed Mina as she let loose the bolter rounds.

Rosa's gun fired in a single burst of four rounds, the roar of the gun louder than thunder in her ear. Even as her eyes tracked the four self-propelled rounds flying toward her enemies, her armor indicated another burst of three bullets striking her around her left chest. She ignored the enemy's gunfire even as one bullet zoomed past her head.

First round dove right into the chest of the stocky man in chest armor. They all wore only chest armor and rest of their body was covered in thick leather and fur. The chest plate of the enemy soldier split open with a sharp crack and a small muffled sound of something popping was heard. The second round had struck the man in the right shoulder, with same procession of sounds. The third shot missed, but the forth shot struck the side of the next man's head. Even as the first man fell backward from the impact and his chest cavity pried open by the force of the bolt round's explosion, the second man lost half of his head.

"Bitch!" screamed a man, who ran toward Rosa but he was caught by the downward swing of Rosa's Chainsword.

Before the third man could even raise his gun to defend himself, the shrieking spin of the diamantine teeth met his flesh. The crude steel helmet warped within a moment and sent out a brilliant shower of sparks before caving in. The teeth of the Chainsword shredded hair and scalp before simply crushing into the skull. The puny human skull could not stand such impact. The single-row of teeth that ran up the Chainsword began to drag out the brain even as it pressed downward and collapsed the nasal cavity and upper jaw.

Rosa pulled the sword back, showering the remaining two assailants with blinding gore. Her gun spun toward them and another burst of four rounds shattered their chests. Five men were down in an instant, but there were still many more. She turned her head, and saw Cora setting fire to six men behind a large rectangular slab of rock with her flamer. Mariah also did the similar to four men behind a low wall of several large rocks. The men had hidden themselves, but the rocks of that wall were loose, and flame seeped through. Cover had no meaning against a flamer. Mina used single shots and carefully collected headshots against a team of six.

There were others though. They had just begun. From all around them came out rebel soldiers. Rosa surveyed their position in an instant. She had to cautious. Her armor was strong but not infallible, and certainly lighter in defense than the mighty bulk of an Astartes armor.

"Take them down. Our city will stand!" shouted one of them.

Rosa and three other Sisters now had to fight their way through at least one hundred and fifty meters to reach the steps on the far side of the walkway, and there were so many enemies. She quickly counted, but such was an arduous task in the dim moonlight. Yet, she counted at least sixteen more, and they were all armed with their primitive rifles.

"Do not falter, my sisters. They cannot harm us!" shouted Rosa as the two side stared at each other.

"Your hope is false, bitch! We have weapons to kill you!" replied a man in the darkness.

"You must be the leader, but you hide yourself in the shadows. You are coward, and indeed deserve the fate of the traitors!"

"No more talking! Fire! Kill them all!"

This time, even Rosa and her Sisters were forced to duck, hiding behind the large rocks and stone walls littering the field before them. The enemies fired their guns and stones broke and shattered around the edges but the core of the rocks held fast. Chips and dust fell upon her armor, and even as the bullets still sped past around her, Rosa stood up defiantly and fired her bolter at the flashes of gun fire.

Two single shots flew toward the man right in front of her. He had stepped out from his own cover to fire at her, but standing up had been his mistake. His chest exploded when the two bolt rounds hit true. The man next to him got a headshot when Rosa's third shot punched through the skull and out the other side. The fourth shot exploded upon the surface of a large natural rock and the explosion forced the soldier behind the rock to stand up in fright and he was shot in the back by friendly fire.

Rosa ran forward, ducking a fresh hail of bullets and found a new cover closer to her enemies. As Rosa looked, she saw Cora charging through between two boulders and facing three soldiers. Flames drove them back, lighting the area for a moment before bullets from other soldiers rained down on both their own fellows and Cora, but she had already sat herself down behind a rock. Mariah was struck several times by the bullets, but given the weakness of such bullets, she was fine. She kicked a soldier down before dashing his brains out with the but of her flamer then let loose fire against four men behind a low wall. This wall was well-made, and it protected them a little.

"Die, heretics!" shouted the voice of Mina, and Rosa turned her head.

Mina was being peppered by gunfire even as she struggled against four men who had all abandoned their weapons and grabbed her limbs. Encumbered and exposed, she took scores of shots to her chest plate. Rosa did not worry until she heard a new sound.

It was a familiar sound of heavier gun, and while it was not a bolter it was certainly something stronger than what these men carried.

"Heavy Stubber!" Mina roared as her chest was suddenly lit with the flaring sparks of having hundreds of heavy caliber bullets exploding upon her.

Rosa took a quick peek, and saw five bright flames as bullets poured upon the Battle Sister. Still crouching, Rosa aimed at one of the Heavy Stubber position and fired her bolter at full-auto sending at least twenty rounds toward that gunner. A short scream later, the gun was silenced, but the Rosa heard a female scream of pain.

Rosa's gaze turned back to Mina, and saw that the Heavy Stubbers were not loaded with same kind of bullets as the rifles that soldiers carried. Small marks of explosion and deep gouges and holes in Mina's chest indicated armor-piercing round of some kind, with extra velocity and tougher core of the bullets. Mina was still alive, and she cast aside the four dead men still holding her limbs and took herself behind a rock. The situation changed and someone had manned the Heavy Stubbers again, pinning down the four Sisters of Battle.

"How do you like that, you fanatic sluts? When we capture you alive, you will wish you were never born!" howled the men, but it only made Rosa steel her resolve.

"Now, let's show these whores of the Ecclesiarchy the bite of the LAW!" One man shouted, and Rosa frowned.

Then even as her gaze peered over the rocks, she saw in the dimness of the early night, that two of the soldiers were carrying shoulder-mounted missile launcher of some kind. It was a small thing. A tube a little longer than a man's arm perhaps. The two men, under the cover fire of their fellows, pulled out some pin from the tube's back and seemed to unlock the thing. Suddenly, they pulled the tube and it extended. Once they had readied it so, they knelt down and pointed their weapon at where Cora was hiding.

"Cora, get out of there! Enemy has heavy weapons!" shouted Rosa, but under the deafening roar of Heavy Stubber, she was drowned out.

Perhaps Rosa's frantic gesture had alerted Cora enough for the younger Sister to move. Explosions quaked the air as two small explosions struck the rock and sent Cora flying.

"Cora! No!" Mariah wailed as Cora had stopped moving.

Rosa could not tell if she was dead or not, but she was now vulnerable. Unwilling to let her Sisters die, Rosa stood up and charged. Bullets shattered around her. Her shoulder pauldrons and chest and legs and arms were flashing wildly as the sparks of bullets meeting ceramite plating flared up. Her bolter ran dry after two shots, but that had taken down two enemies. The Chainsword moved in graceful arcs as it cut down rebel soldiers one by one without mercy.

Mariah was back in action as she scorched three more soldiers before shoulder-charging another into a large boulder that crushed the man's throat. Mina, too, fought hard despite her wounds. Bleeding from her chest a little, her movements were slow but deliberate. Even as another 'LAW' was fired by the soldiers and explosion sent shards of stone into her face, Mina calmly gunned down six soldiers with her bolter.

It was then that the six Battle Sisters who had circumvented the enemy ambush had joined the attack. The gunners manning the Heavy Stubbers were shot in the back by the bolters of Battle Sisters. Sandwiched by the angry Rosa and six Battle Sisters breaking them from behind, the rebels died. They died screaming and their guns were useless. Within minutes, the scene was covered in blood and guts of traitors, and the Adepta Sororitas had won the skirmish.

"Is she alright?" asked Rosa as Mariah looked over Cora.

"She is unconscious but here wounds were superficial. Perhaps she as a concussion, but such diagonostic is beyond my skills in immediate battlefield first aid, Sister Superior," answered Mariah.

"What of you, Mina?"

"I am fine, Sister. My armor has been compromised but I shall live to fight yet again."

"Good, sister. Your spirit has been guided by the Emperor to remain so strong. Let us to our mission, sisters. We shall force-feed these rebels with good faith."

Soon, the Sisters were down at the Water Purification Facility, and after gunning down the twenty-or-so members of rebels, the ladies had opened up the giant tanks connected to pipes leading through the mountains. Each tank had names of cities that it was connected to, showing that once this world was united and each city had its role to maintain that unity.

"Open the canisters and pour them in, sisters."

"Yes, Sister Superior."

Five tanks were open and clean water was seen. They opened the canisters and saw thick purple liquid sloshing within.

"What is this? It looks disgusting," said Anna.

"Whatever it is, Canoness has a reason for ordering us to do this," Alexa replied.

"Indeed, Sisters. Apparently, the Mechanicus want us to test this new drug that will induce or promote faith in common people. Canoness had argued against such seemingly-impossible drug, but she had relented in order to support this campaign. If it works, it will be good. Now, don't get any of that on your flesh, Sisters. It is apparently very toxic in this condensed form," explained Rosa, now concerned about her Sisters who had taken their cumbersome helmet off.

They were almost done when Khloe stumbled.

"Careful!" said Mariah as she dragged Khloe from the water tank where the younger Sister had almost fallen into.

Rosa turned her attention to that trouble for a moment and saw that Mariah had it all under control.

"Is she alright?"

"I am fine, Sister Superior."

"Good. Now, let's burn the corpses of these traitors. They shall feed the fire for the night as we set up our camp here."

The Sisters of Rosa Squad used the corpses as fuel and slept in the giant metal boxes that the rebels had used as temporary housing. The first watch was given to Khloe.

Alexa woke up two hours later as her armor indicated. It was her turn to stand guard. After all, it was still deep within hostile territory. She took up her bolter and went outside to replace Khloe but she was nowhere to be found.

"Khloe? Where have you gone to, Sister?" asked Alexa as she looked around.

Then she saw a bolter on the ground.

"Khloe?"

Suddenly worried, Alexa headed toward the darkness behind the facility's walls. There, a body was lying on the ground face down, and Alexa quickly headed to the body. Thinking that an enemy had ambushed Khloe, Alexa readied her gun and looked around just as she touched Khloe.

"Are you alive?" whispered Alexa even as her eyes gazed along the snow-covered hills.

"Craaagh!"

With a beastly roar, Khloe jumped at Alexa. In that moment, the moonlight shined a beam and revealed Khloe's face. The jaw had split in two and each side of the jaw featured numerous sharp fangs hiding forked tongue. Her eyes glowed and the armor cracked and buckled as long spines began to grow from behind her neck.

The sound of gun fire alarmed the rest of the Sororitas, and they came out with their weapons, and saw Alexa clutching her face and rolling on the ground, screaming. Beside her Khloe stood upright in her gradually infested form. Her Power Armor had cracked open in weak areas and a pair of claws very much like those of a Zergling had sprouted from her back. Her hands had been coated in thick mucus around where claws were growing, and tentacles were growing out of her head instead of hair. Thick veins had already fused her body and the armor together.

Before the surprised Rosa could even raise her gun, Alexa's scream stopped. They watched as Alexa rolled over. They saw her face turning purple and tiny thorns growing from her forehead. Her hair fell away and hard carapace began to form around her skull.

"What kind of... monstrosity is this?" whispered Rosa.

They could not understand. They had seen monsters and daemons, but this was something else. Then their battle instinct kicked in just as Khloe began to move toward them.

"Kill it! Avenge our sisters!" shouted Selia as she raised her gun.

She did not get the chance. Khloe spat at them, and dark murky brown droplets sprayed over their faces. Only Rosa and Cora was spared when Cora hurriedly pulled back Rosa. Selia and others suddenly screamed. The moment that tiny particles of the spit touched them, they had been infected. Their faces burned as each receptor for pain was set aflame. The skin cells began to change as the virus began to rewrite their DNA. Blinded by the infection that spread over their face within seconds, the Sisters fell to the ground screaming.

"NO! SISTERS!" screamed Rosa in despair.

"We must burn them!" Cora replied with steel in her voice.

Cora's flamer was brought to bear. The fire engulfed them. Khloe fell as her flesh was cooked, and others too fell. Rosa personally put eight rounds into Alexa's head before Cora used her remaining fuel upon the corpse.

"How could this happen? Our sisters..."

"It must be that supposed drug. It must turn people into monsters in high doses, and possibly in low doses too!" exclaimed Cora at Rosa's despair.

Rosa blinked. Cora was right.

"I will speak to the Canoness. If she is being deceived, she is committing a great crime without realizing it is a trick by the Mechanicus that has supported us in this endeavor."

"Yes, Sister Superior."

"Let us depart. We are beyond the reach of vox communication thanks to these mountains."

They stood up but fell to the ground once more as a quake knocked them down.

"Is this an earthquake?"

It was not. Instead, the ground exploded and a giant Nydus Worm now stared down at them from the steps that led back to the Hive City. Hundreds of Zerglings, Roaches and Hydralisks came out from the ground and surrounded them. Sister Rosa and her squad was heard from no more.

* * *

><p><strong>Silorian Foothills<strong>

**Outpost 12 – White Hawks Territory**

Lori was on watch.

She had climbed to the top of the tower in the middle of the small fortification overlooking the stretch of gentle rolling hills and the distant form of Hive Fili, now in the hands of the White Hawks. The tower was made of thick concrete slabs and the dirt-colored bricks that the locals produced. She climbed the simple metal staircase that fixed upon the outside of the tower through which the top two levels of the tower were manned and the roof accessed.

The top level had its balcony-embrasure toward north west at the desert, guarding against enemies that comes from the low flatland beyond that reached the sands. A single Heavy Stubber was set upon a crudely made iron tripod and two soldiers manned that gun in shifts. The top second floor of the tower faced north east with its gun toward the Hive Fili since that was the direction against which this fortification was constructed during the days before the Space Marines recaptured the city. It had a bolter set on a tripod with belt feed for ammunition. The roof had a new gun, a Heavy Bolter, and two soldiers manned the roof at all times. Of the planet's twenty-five hours day, Jon manned it for eight hours, and Wilem manned it for nine during night time. Lori manned the roof of the tower between Jon and Willem's shifts, giving her a little time to spend with Jon during the night.

Below the top two levels was enough space for another two levels, but it housed a compact version of communications, sensor and power generation unit. The soldiers had to feed it regular supply of prometheum and made sure the fumes were released to outside their outpost. The sensor system detected any enemy air units coming from the desert and the communications system allowed the garrison to report their warnings to the main army.

Set up around this tower was a semi-open structure that worked as a barracks. Six gray slabs of concrete made the walls on one side and the other side was built up of bricks to make an elongated rectangular cube where six cots and the weapons crate resided. The remaining open walls were patched up with wood and nails, but there were not enough resource to finish enclosing the structure. Still, one side opened to the side of the tower, partially providing a cover while the other end of the structure was opened to the entrance of the circular bunker.

The bunker was both a private room for Jon and two Multi-laser on a pintle so that the bunker would still function as it was meant to be. It was a cozy situation. The outpost was built upon a low mound, and three lines of concrete fence about as high as half a man surrounded the fortification in overlaps so that three exits were available. Still, it was sort of a home, far more than Lori had ever felt before back in the tall Spires where she had lived with her parents and siblings. She could not remember their faces or their names, but she just assumed because of the shock of being driven into battles at such young age. It was few years ago and a child could forget such things.

_**BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!**_

_**REST NOW! EVEN A SINGLE MOMENT OF DELICIOUS SLEEP COULD BE FULL OF PLEASURABLE DREAMS!**_

_**THEY WILL BETRAY YOU! EVERYONE IS SCHEMING, LYING AND CHEATING!**_

_**IS THAT AN ITCH ON THE BACK OF YOUR THROAT? DO YOU FEEL A COLD COMING ON?**_

Lori frowned as voices rang in her ears again. She mentally checked her blocked. The walls of distrust, contempt and disgust bloated out the creeping voices that slammed against them. The red one was the most brutal. It demanded blood and skull all the time. The pink one was talking about her sex life, but Lori was already content being with Jon. The blue one was sneaky. It spoke in so many voices and in whispers. The sickly green one was always talking about sickness, but Lori never remembered being sick, so she could not relate.

Still, the voices were powerful and they were annoying. She just hoped that the Space Marine would arrive soon. She hoped that the Librarian would have the answers. It had been almost half a day since she had been contacted and her gift blossomed within those hours.

"Sergeant, there is something here!" shouted one of the soldiers two levels down.

The boy had been staring down at the small screen to scan for the aerial targets.

"What is it?" asked Lori as she peered down from the roof.

"I don't know."

Then she heard it. From the distance, a small whisper of engine noise could be heard from afar. She turned her gaze to south east and a small dot appeared among the clouds above.

Jon and Lori and most of the garrison quickly readied themselves for battle, but the object was a Thunderhawk of the White Hawks. Sighing in relief, they all assembled and gathered outside their outpost to greet the Space Marines.

There were two squads of Space Marine in Power Armor, five Space Marines in lighter armors of Scouts and one with open helmet. Lori assumed that he was the Librarian.

"You must be the girl. You have done well defending yourself against the predation of the Ruinous Powers. Without you, they cannot get an inch of advantage," said the Space Marine Librarian.

"Thank you, my lord."

"There is no need for such genuflecting, girl. We are all servants of the Emperor. I shall take you from this place, and bring you to our Reliquary, and there you shall be tested."

"Tested?"

"For purity of soul and body. Once you are proven as a righteous member of mankind and your soul free of taint, you may be inducted into the ranks of perhaps handed over to the Inquisition. Personally, if your psychic gifts are strong enough and your control over your talent is as stable as it appeared right now, an Inquisitor may find use for you as his or her disciple."

Lori paused for a moment to process his words.

"You mean I would become an Inquisitor?"

"Maybe. What is your name?"

"Lori... Sergeant Lori Anela, and this is my commander, Lieutenant Jon 'Mac' Ronyar," Lori introduced both herself and Jon.

The Librarian narrowed his eyes at the saluting officer. He smiled a little.

"I am Epistolary Baumhauer of the White Hawks Astartes Chapter, and I bring you hope for your sergeant here, lieutenant. I am sorry to deprive you of your little playmate, but a lover's relations cannot hold up against the authority I have over a psyker, particularly one as raw as her. Will you officially hand her over?" asked the Librarian, his voice gentle but a firm strength behind his words.

Jon looked at Lori, and Lori suddenly hugged him. After a moment of hesitation, they kissed. It was a passionate kiss and they parted with tears slowly flowing down their faces.

"I would not be the one to stop you from this. Being a psyker is a burden, Lori, but I have faith that the Lord Librarian here would do the right thing," whispered Jon.

"Thank you, Jon. I don't want to leave you, but the voices are getting stronger. But I do not wish to become a monster from nightmares. I don't want to hurt you because of what I am."

"I understand."

Baumhauer was nodding and was about to say something when he paused. He seemed to be listening to internal communcations, and suddenly one of the Space Marine squads and the Scout combat squad went back into the Thunderhawk, and moments after, the vessel departed.

Baumhauer turned back to Lori.

"It appears that we are stuck here for a moment."

"What is the matter?"

"Oh, it's nothing. We just received a distress call from a fellow Space Marine, and I have dispatched a squad and the Thunderhawk for extraction."

"Ah... Okay... umm... So, can we talk about the voices?" asked Lori.

"This is not the best place to speak of that, but... Huh..."

"What is it?"

Baumhauer raised an eyebrow.

"I have never really felt so unburdened in my life. Talking to you, this close, I hear the voices less. All psykers hear the voices, Lori, and it is up to individuals and the strength of their will and spirit that protect them from the whispers in the dark. I have heard their voices all my life, and it had been my training that kept them at bay. But here... the Warp is quieter. You say you still hear the voices?" asked Baumhauer.

Lori nodded.

"Perhaps I have underestimated your potential. I have heard cases where the denizens of the other side have been attracted to psykers and psychic potentials over the mundane humans, thus actually lessening the worry of corruption among the general population... well... until the psyker goes insane at least," muttered Baumhauer as he closed his eyes to focus.

"So, I am in danger?"

"If what I suspect is true, you may be a very powerful psyker, and if you give in to the whispers, then you will engulf the whole planet in a Warp Storm and... Hmmm?" Baumhauer paused as something new was felt by the edges of his mind.

It was a warning of a danger, and Lori suddenly frowned.

"Oooh... that voice... the voice of the blood is getting louder..."

Baumhauer narrowed his eyes.

"Lieutenant! I have incoming. Three objects!" shouted the soldier manning the radar.

"Their size classification?" asked Jon.

"Alpha Tertius, sir!"

"Alpha Tertius... that is neither small or big," whispered Jon.

"Perhaps a Drop Pod?" asked Baumhauer.

Jon turned to the Librarian.

"Not one of yours, lord?"

"No... BROTHERS! TO BATTLE FORMATION!" roared the Librarian, and the Space Marines suddenly went into action.

They herded the human solders behind the low concrete walls even as the two flashes was seen among the clouds and dropped down fast.

"CHAOS! They've come for Lori! Defend her! I will deal with these traitors!" Baumhauer said to Jon who nodded in return.

Jon and Lori and their soldiers quickly armed themselves, and several of the soldiers quickly climbed the tower to man their big guns.

"Squad Beringer! To battle!" roared the Astartes sergeant with gray metal arms.

It was a luck that the Loyalists found their enemies first. The first strike was theirs.

The Drop Pods slammed into the ground not far from the outpost, and the Space Marines charged.

The two pods nearer to the outpost opened first. Each pod revealed pus covered warriors in thin and crude-looking Power Armors carrying Heavy Stubbers on their left arm and a Chainsword on their right. The third pod opened and spewed out a squad of crazed Khornate Berserkers. They gurgled their obscenities and charged.

Squad Beringer met the traitors in combat. Brother Dieter stopped running right behind a large rock coming up to this thigh. He then planted his feet firmly in the ground before bringing his Heavy Bolter to aim. Not far from Dieter was Brother Eckart and his Plasma Gun, who also halted in his charge to aim his weapon at the enemies. Brothers Fritz, Heiner, Henrik, Kaspar and Loathar all stopped running and brought their bolters to bear. The remaining three were armed with melee weapons, given Beringer's penchant for close combat.

Bolter rounds rammed into the two squads of Power Armored Nurglite soldiers. The armaplas and ceramite plates that covered the mechanized skeletal structures of the Nurglites cracked and buckled under the hail of gunfire. A burst fifteen of Heavy Bolter shells slammed into the nearest Nurglite, and the ceramite chest plate shattered under the impact of large bullets exploding upon them. Yet, against a fully converted Nurglite warrior such attack was not as effective as it could have been. Guts and rotten bones slithered out as giant gaping holes in its chest slowly seethed with gas and oozed more ichor. The creature returned fire with its Heavy Stubber, firing diamantine tipped bullets that threatened even the Astartes armors.

Even as the Nurglites and the ranged gun fires of Squad Beringer were exchanged, the Berserkers met their match against the four with close-combat weapons. Led by Sergeant Beringer and Epistolary Baumhauer, the Space Marines faced the Berserkers of Khorne over the fate of a single girl.

* * *

><p><span><strong>END OF CHAPTER 59<strong>


End file.
